Their Summer Story
by rennomiya
Summary: This is the story of that summer; it all started when Ryoma transformed into a six-year-old child and he had to live with Sakuno for two weeks! And that is only the beginning. RyoSaku, slight KiriSaku, slight MomoAn. One-sided FujiSaku.
1. Chapter 1

:||**Their Summer Story**||:

:||**rennomiya**||:

:||**BeGgInNiNgOfStOrY**||:

:||**ChApTeRoNe**||:

At age twelve, Echizen Ryoma, son of the legendary Samurai Nanjiroh, made his debut as the world's youngest tennis pro by winning in the US Open. Still at the same age, he won Japan's National Tournament for Middle School Students, beating the legendary 'Child of God', using a technique that only top professional tennis players could attain. At age thirteen, he won first place at Worldwide Opens, using these as his stepping stone to further his success. At age fourteen, he continued on winning Grand Slam Titles, finally being recognized worldwide as 'Samurai Junior', the new legendary tennis player for his generation.

Of course, that did not stop his fan girls from recognizing him even more. Every girl on the entire planet adores him; both his good looks and tennis skills. He not only has a Fans Club (courtesy by Osakada Tomoka) in Seigaku, but also a Fans Club worldwide (courtesy by stalkers of different countries). He had now become more popular than he already is. But of course, everyone knows it's not about the popularity that matters for the tennis prince. It's about living his dream and becoming one of the best; maybe even better than his perverted father. His wings already spread, making him fly to the top… higher than anyone has climbed before… higher than…

"I-I can't reach the stupid doorknob!" struggled a six-year-old child as he stretched his little arms higher, still not reaching the 'stupid' doorknob.

"Ryo-chan, if you want to open the door, you could ask me. You're still too little to reach the doorknob," a girl in her fifteens gently scolded the younger boy. "Oh, and stop cursing! Don't imitate that part of Ryoma-kun," she added as she opened the door for the younger one.

The younger one groaned in annoyance and lowered the brim of his cap.

The truth is, this young boy, who looks exactly like Echizen Ryoma… is actually the real Echizen Ryoma…

How'd this happen?

:||**FlAsHbAcK**||:

It's about living his dream and becoming one of the best; maybe even better than his perverted father. His wings already spread, making him fly to the top… higher than anyone has climbed before… higher than…

"Buchou," greeted the fifteen-year-old tennis prodigy of Japan.

Tezuka Kunimitsu, the captain of Seishun Gakuen High School, nodded his head in response, "Nice to have you back, Echizen." Tezuka was acknowledged as having already reached a professional level with his tennis. Nothing much had change with him; still stoic and strict.

Ryoma had suddenly arrived in Seishun High, not informing his friends about his return from America. He decided to take a break from his 'long journey ahead' (coughTennisTournamentscough) and go back to Seigaku as a normal high school student who joined the tennis club to participate in normal, local competitions.

The redhead acrobat, Kikumaru Eiji, beamed at the sight of his O'chibi. He jumped around excitedly and leaped towards the dark-green-haired freshman of the group. Despite his childish attitude, he's really an important part of the team. He's the other half of Seigaku's 'Golden Pair' along with Oishi. He had shown his incredible speed at the Nationals three years ago, to the point of actually making his clones because of the rather outstanding (and completely ridiculous) speed he attained. "O'chibi! Look at you! You've grown so much!" he observed their height differences and grinned, "But I'm still taller, nya!"

Ryoma sighed and murmured a small "Mada mada dane."

"Anyway," interrupted the vice-captain, the other half of the 'Golden Pair', also known as the 'Mother Hen' of the team, Oishi Syuichiroh, "I'm glad you can make it, despite being an international star and all."

Ryoma looked at his vice-captain with nonchalance, "Betsuni. I've taken a break anyway."

Momoshiro Takeshi, now the only one powerhouse of Seigaku since Kawamura Takashi retired from tennis to continue his dream of being a sushi chef, grinned at his kouhai's response. Nothing changed, he assumed. Echizen is still the same ol' arrogant brat who tries his best to keep his cool, despite living with his insane senpai-tachi. "No change, no change at all, Echizen!"

"You probably didn't change too, ne Momo-senpai?" shot back the freshman.

"Yes. He's still the baka porcupine head you'd known ever since," replied the 'Snake', also known as Kaidoh Kaoru, another sophomore regular of the team along with Momoshiro. He became the tennis team captain during his senior year in Seigaku middle school after the previous seniors graduated. Together with Momoshiro, he led the tennis team to the Nationals, defending their title as 'Champions' for the second time. Back then, Tezuka and the others frequently visit Seigaku to help Kaidoh train the team, which held a lot of contribution to their second win at the Nationals. Momoshiro and Kaidoh were rivals ever since their freshmen days at Seigaku middle school. Even so, they make a great doubles team because of their unexplainable desire to outgrow each other.

"What did you say, Mamushi!" Momoshiro retorted. And their usual fights commenced.

"Saa," Fuji Syuusuke, the tensai of the team said, "Let's celebrate Echizen's return at Taka-san's sushi shop," he turned to the tennis prince, "Taka-san improved his cooking skills quite a lot after you left. I suggest tasting some of his masterpieces."

Ryoma nodded in response. Fuji Syuusuke was known as the 'Sadist' because of his habit of making people suffer for the sake of his own, selfish fun. He mastered playing tennis in both singles and doubles, with Kawamura as his usual partner. He was called 'tensai' because of his original 'Triple Counters', which in the Nationals, he managed to construct two new counters, surprising the audience.

"One hundred percent chance he would say yes," muttered the data man, Inui Sadaharu, who was well-known in Japan with his unique data-gathering skills. And well-known in Seigaku as the producer of a poison called 'Inui Juice'.

Ryoma couldn't help but smile a little of the nostalgic feelings that once again returned to him.

"Then, what are we waiting for? To Taka-san's!" yelled Momo excitedly who raised his right arm in the air. Eiji followed him and wrapped his right arm around his kouhai's shoulder, and they both lead the way to the sushi shop of their former teammate, Kawamura Takashi.

"_Yudan sezu ni ikou!"_

"_Fshuu…"_

"_Ii data…"_

"_Saa…"_

"_B-Be careful, you two…"_

"_Nya, Oishi's such a worrywart, nya!"_

"_You shouldn't be like that senpai, you shouldn't."_

"_Mada mada dane."_

… Were all the noises that were heard as they walk the path towards the sushi place.

Momo and Eiji opened the door to the shop and grinned toothily, "Sorry for disturbing you!" they called, rather cheerily.

Taka-san, who was making another batch of sushi for a huge platter, stopped and smiled at the arrival of his former teammates, "Irashaimase, minna!"

One by one, they entered the shop, and the last one who entered made Taka's smile widen. "E-Echizen! You're home!"

"Uissu," replied the youngest one.

Taka left his place behind the counter to approach his kouhai and greeted a joyous, "Welcome home!"

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"Em gld yr stying hr fr gd, Echzn!" Momo said as he pushed his ninth sushi on his mouth. (Momo: I'm glad you're staying here for good, Echizen).

As he spoke, some of the rice from the sushi spilled from his mouth and disgustingly spilled all over the irritated tennis prince, "Momo-senpai… could you NOT EAT WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!"

"Saa, Momo, don't irritate the prince. After all, this _is _his party," Taka said as he smiled apologetically at Echizen.

"Hn," grunted the tennis prince.

"Now," Inui flipped his phone off and wrote something on his notebook.

Fuji looked curiously at the data man and decided to ask him about it, "Who did you call, Inui?"

"No one knows Echizen just arrived this morning, right? I just called some people who are also close to him that may make Echizen happier to return than he already is." Inui adjusted his glasses to the bridge of his nose and his glasses beamed afterwards. A toothy, menacing grin formed on his lips after.

"In short?"

"The ichinen trio, Inoue-san, Shiba-san, Ryuzaki-sensei, and the two cheerleaders," Inui answered in his usual monotone voice.

Fuji smiled sadistically. "By two cheerleaders… you mean Osakada Tomoka and Ryuzaki Sakuno, right?"

"Sou."

"Saa," Fuji's sadistic smile turned back into his casual one as he looked at his other teammates who were celebrating the prodigy's return, "since you suddenly mentioned her, I think there's another reason why Echizen suddenly returned."

"You think he missed her?"

"Un. But he'll never admit that in this lifetime," the tensai said. He relaxed his head by resting his chin on his palm. He continued to watch his teammates, especially Echizen, who was now being strangled to death (hug) by Momo and Eiji. "Everyone knows how he feels for her, except him."

"One hundred percent probability that what you said is true." Inui grabbed his tea and drank it. He noticed that every drink that everyone has is tea. This gave him a bright idea.

Inui Sadaharu, data man, stood up dramatically and brought out some kind of thermos from his bag. "Minna," Inui started to introduce, "Let me introduce this new juice I invented," he showed the contents of the thermos to them by pouring some into an empty cup. The color is… unexplainable. That color did not even exist! Whatever that color is! Is that even possible?

Everyone paled.

Great. Just what Echizen Ryoma wanted for his Return Party. Don't forget he was sarcastic on that one.

"Saa," Inui forced the drink upon the regulars, "It's full of nutrition that tennis players need with their training." As Inui stepped closer to them, they stepped back. Except Tezuka, who was sitting near the counter.

They shook their heads nervously when Inui shoved the juice in their faces. "I-Inui! S-Stop that already!" Oishi scolded.

"Yeah," Momo nodded in agreement, "J-Just give that to E-Echizen! It's _his _party after all!"

"You're so unfair, Momo-senpai," Ryoma glared at his 'Ah-Un' doubles partner, but his glare immediately turned into panic once Inui started to walk (rather fast) towards him.

"Saa, Echizen. I call this juice 'Mazui Kyoufu'. Try it. It's good." Inui said as he looked evilly at Echizen. (Inui: 'Mazui Kyoufu'—literally 'Tasteless Terror'.)

"I-I don't think t-that's t-tasteless at all!" Eiji paled as he continued on staring at _that _thing.

"Now, open your mouth. Say 'Ah'," Inui said monotonously.

Ryoma's eyes turned from panic to glare, "Yadda yo, senpai. Don't force me to drink that." He stared coldly and meanly at his senpai. "Just drink it if you want to."

The data man had gathered enough data about Echizen to know when he should back out, especially these times when his eyes are that cold and mean. He stepped back a little and was about to retreat when someone interrupted.

"Ara?" Fuji suddenly interrupted, "I heard Sakuno-chan's coming. If Echizen doesn't want to drink it, why don't you just let Sakuno-chan take his place, Inui?" the tensai said, feigning innocence.

Inui looked at Fuji in wonder before realizing that his 'Tasteless Terror' disappeared from his hand. He looked around and saw Echizen already drinking it.

Eiji and Momo immediately forgot their terror of the juice and grinned knowingly at the tennis prince as the latter continued to drink that whatever-color thing. "I think we know why O'chibi suddenly drank that juice, ne Momo?"

"Yeah, we know why, we know." Momo rolled his eyes meaningfully at the redhead's direction, meeting his senpai's own insane stare.

After Ryoma drank that thing, and being unable to identify the taste (but he was sure it was too horrible to know), his vision suddenly blurred. He knew it. He was going to faint. And blame it all on the juice. But… after not being able to drink that thing for almost three years made the tennis prince wonder… Was it always _that _bad or he just forgot how it taste? He was pretty sure that after Penal Tea that Inui-senpai invented years ago, the juices that came afterwards had the ability to make anyone unconscious in a snap. It started during their recreation day, when they played bowling. That was the time Inui's juice was so bad, it actually caused someone to lose consciousness. That Aozu… tastes better than, than… than _this. _Ah, good times, good times. Not.

Wait… he can still think? Isn't he supposed to lose consciousness right about now? Why can he still think? And why is everything dark? Oh yeah… his eyes are closed.

"O'chibi," said Kikumaru in a voice full of concern.

And if there's someone that anyone's worrying about, there is always Oishi, "E-Echizen, wake up! Get a hold of yourself!" he looked uselessly at the tennis prince. His worry turned into anger which he blurted out on Inui, "Inui! This is your entire fault! I told you not to make another one of your juices! Let alone invent another! Do something abo—"

"Oishi," the stern voice of their responsible captain called, "Calm down. Echizen will be fine."

"Yeah, but," the vice-captain tried to protest but he knew there was no way in this lifetime he would be able to argue with Tezuka.

"Y-Yeah, Inui-senpai, Oishi-senpai," Momo tried to ease the tension, "Everyone faints after drinking the juice. It's nothing to worry about, ne Eiji-senpai?" As Momo looked at his partner in crime, his eyes turned into curiosity upon seeing the usual cheerful and childish acrobat stare worriedly at Echizen. "E-Eiji-senpai?"

Everyone felt tense when Oishi scolded Inui that's why they didn't notice the sudden change in the prince's appearance. "E-Eiji-senpai?" they heard the powerhouse called and they all turned towards the direction of the unconscious prince.

Echizen Ryoma, whom they knew as a fifteen-year-old boy, turned into a child!

They gaped at him.

And Sleeping Beauty finally stirred. He opened his eyes slowly and adjusted his vision. The first thing he saw was the light bulb hanging from the shop's ceiling. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He noticed all of his senpai-tachi are gaping at him. He looked confusedly at them and looked at his body. Was he bleeding or something?

No, he was not bleeding.

His body transformed! Smaller than what he usually had!

He turned back into a six-year-old child!

"Ah!" It was Eiji who broke the silence. "O'CHIBI TURNED INTO A CHIBI!"

"What. The. HELL?" Momo muttered under his breath.

Everyone else was speechless. Including the victim himself.

"Ojamashimasu!" a group of voices yelled as they opened the sliding door of Kawamura Sushi Shop. Ryuzaki Sumire and Sakuno, Osakada Tomoka, Inoue Mamoru, Shiba Saori, Kato Kachiro, Mizuno Katsuo and Horio Satoshi stood before them.

The now turned-into-a-child Echizen Ryoma turned his head slowly to the pigtailed auburn head, granddaughter of his kantoku. (Ryoma: Kantoku—coach)

Momoshiro, with his quick reflexes, shut the sliding door closed and locked it. He looked apologetically at the reflection of the newcomers and said, "Gomen na, minna. W-We have s-something to discuss first. J-just come back later!"

"Momoshiro!" Ryuzaki-sensei yelled. "What do you think you're doing? Let us in!" she yelled fiercely and Momo could swear he heard Sakuno trying to calm her grandmother down. Ryuzaki-sensei then viciously knocked the door continuously and Momo could see the reflections of Shiba-san and Inoue-san trying to hold the ferocious baa-san as much as they possibly could.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

After a while, Ryuzaki-sensei finally gave up on entering and left with the others. The nine Seigaku tennis club members inside the shop sighed in relief.

Anyway…

"Inui! W-What happened? W-Why did Echizen turn back into a child?" Oishi asked panicky. Inui sweat dropped and stared at Echizen. He obviously did not know what happened either. "W-What are we supposed to do now?" Oishi asked, this time disappointment filled his voice as he sat weakly on the ground. "How are we going to tell his family?"

Echizen stared at his body. His _small _body. He was too shocked to think about anything.

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: I know the story's out of season, but what the heck! Flashback's still not over yet people! There will definitely be RyoSaku in this story! Stay tuned! Disclaimers apply (for both Prince of Tennis and Detective Conan; owned by Takeshi Konomi and Gosho Aoyama) and… please review:)

P.S Why am I writing another multi-chaptered fic when I'm still not yet done with the other two?XD Sorry 'bout that XD

EDSA day!

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

"_Sensei won't be home and will be back on the last week of summer, which is four weeks from now."_

_Oh, they get it._

_That means that…_

"_I-I'd be w-with Ryuzaki alone?" Ryoma unknowingly blurted out._

_He'd be alone with the girl everyone believes he likes, maybe even _love_. _


	2. Chapter 2

:||**ReCaP**||:

"_Inui! W-What happened? W-Why did Echizen turn back into a child?" Oishi asked panicky. Inui sweat dropped and stared at Echizen. He obviously did not know what happened either. "W-What are we supposed to do now?" Oishi asked, this time disappointment filled his voice as he sat weakly on the ground. "How are we going to tell his family?"_

_Echizen stared at his body. His _small_ body. He was too shocked to think about anything. _

:||**ChApTeRtWo**||:

:||**CoNtInUaTiOnOfFlAsHbAcK**||:

"Inui-senpai!" the victim, who was quiet all time, yelled after recovering. "Do something about this now!"

Inui stepped one foot back in panic. "G-Gomen Echizen. B-But the p-probability of m-making an antidote for that this m-moment is zero percent."

Ryoma glared at him, "Don't give me th—"

"Echizen," it was now Fuji who interrupted, "Nothing will happen if you just let out your anger at Inui." Ryoma's glare turned to Fuji. "Saa, Echizen. Didn't you hear what Inui said? He said he can't make an antidote at the time. That means he can make an antidote in the future."

Somehow, in a way, it eased the prince's panic and uneasiness.

"B-But," Eiji said, "For the Inui Juice to actually make someone younger… don't you think…"

"… It's highly impossible?" Inui finished for Eiji. Eiji nodded and looked worriedly at Echizen again. "Wrong, Eiji." Seems like Inui finally recovered from shock. He turned to Echizen as his glasses beamed, "I'm sorry for what happened, Echizen. But I'll surely make an antidote for you. I'll make a reverse version of 'Tasteless Terror'," he said to ease Ryoma.

"How long would it take to finish the stupid antidote?" Ryoma asked fiercely.

Inui's glasses beamed again. "Give me at least two weeks."

Two weeks… he could bear with it… "_I guess," _Ryoma thought.

Taka-san laughed nervously, "I-It's a good thing t-that it's summer break, ne minna?"

They looked at Taka.

Even though it's summer break, the regulars of the tennis team still go to school for their daily practice matches and training routines. (rennomiya: based on an episode in TeniPuri series when Ryoma was complaining about practicing even though it's summer break) Tezuka was actually planning on shaping Echizen up so that they could give a good fight in the Kantou Tournament. He already had this plan on mind as soon as Echizen showed up earlier in their practice at Seigaku. But he won't be able to do that now, won't he? Because of what happened to their Ace Player. But he figured he needed to calm down, since Ryoma already experienced playing at tournaments under pressure.

"A-Anyway," Kaidoh said, "what about coach and the others?"

This made Ryoma think about Sakuno.

"O-Oh yeah," Fuji was the one who spoke this time, "Inui called them to tell that Ryoma returned, that's why they all came here."

"This is ridiculous!" Ryoma yelled in frustration. "I just can't accept turning back into a child! What about tennis practice?" After all, what would a person feel if he was suddenly turned back into a child with low probability of returning to normal? Two weeks is impossible to complete an antidote for such an illogical thing. He might be stuck as a child forever… Well, if he was stuck as a child, then he'll experience growing up again… and puberty… right as he was in the middle of it, he's going to experience it again.

They looked at Ryoma with understanding.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Momo asked.

Commence racking their brains for ideas.

After ten minutes of complete silence…

"I-I KNOW!" Eiji said proudly since he's the first one who actually thought of an idea. Everyone looked at him in question. He looked at Momo with his serious eyes and Momo understood it immediately.

"First, we need to make an excuse to where Echizen went… since we can't tell them that Echizen actually turned back into a child." Fuji interrupted as the acrobat and the powerhouse were about to speak. They fell comically on the ground.

"Next, we must tell them who this child is," Tezuka eyed the younger Echizen.

"And lastly!" Eiji yelled immediately after Tezuka spoke so that no one will interrupt the announcement of his brilliant idea, "We need to hide O'chibi from his family and…"

"… let him stay with one of us!" Momo finished.

Everyone eyed them curiously. And they also made mental notes that Ryoma's family were in America from the start, and what they know is that their son was in Japan. No need to actually hide him from them. If one of his parents calls, then they'll just tell Ryoma to say that he was doing fine. And why would they want Ryoma to stay with one of them? Unless…

Then, Momo and Eiji's idea struck them.

"Ahem," Inui muttered, "I cannot let the young Echizen live in my house. I need to concentrate on making the antidote."

"I'm out, too," Kaidoh hissed. "My little brother hates little boys around the house."

"Count me down," Oishi raised his hand, "My family's going to be out the whole summer. I can't take care of a child alone." Everyone rolled their eyes. Of course Oishi-mama can take care of a child, duh.

"Saa, if you don't want to live the next two weeks of your life with pain and suffering, I suggest you do not even think about living with my family," Fuji warned. Everyone shivered as he lets out his sadistic aura.

"No," Tezuka simply rejected.

"Oyaji won't like it either," Taka said timidly.

"I can't handle another child in the house," Momo complained with his usual accent as he scratched the back of his head. "I've already had two younger siblings!"

"O'chibi can't stay with me. My family's big and we can't afford another person in the house!" Eiji said childishly as he crossed his arms on the back of his head.

Ryoma sighed. "Where do you expect me to live then?"

Everyone, except Tezuka and Kaidoh, grinned at him maniacally. "Choose: Ryuzaki, Horio, Kato, Mizuno or Osakada?"

Ryoma eyed them suspiciously. They were planning on this, weren't they? Horio is already out even if he was not thinking about him. Same goes for Osakada. They're too loud. "Kato," he replied nonchalantly.

"No!"

"Eh? Why not?"

"According to the data I've gathered, Kato Kachiro, year one class five, born on the second day of March, had planned to spend half his summer vacation with his family in Okinawa. As for Mizuno Katsuo, year one class five, born on the seventh day of April, planned on going with Kato's family, since their families know each other. They'll be gone one and a half week from now," Inui explained as he looked at his green notebook.

"So then," Eiji and Momo grinned sheepishly at him. "There're only three more options: Horio, Osakada or Ryuzaki?"

Yep, they definitely planned it. Ryoma sighed and lowered the brim of his oversized cap. "Fine. I'll go with Ryuzaki."

"Okay, that's problem three solved," Fuji smiled. "Now, let's think about what we name him."

They looked at Ryoma again.

"Ryoga?" Momo answered.

"No, Momo, Ryoga is Echizen's older brother! He already exists… we need to invent one," Oishi said. "How about Ryoichi?"

"Lame," Eiji looked at Oishi disappointedly and shook his head, "Ryuzaburo is much cuter!"

"Ryuzaburo sounds like an old man's name… How about Ryoko?" Taka-san asked.

"Taka-san, Ryoko is a woman's name," Fuji said, "Saa, how about Ryoma?"

"That's already his name, Fuji," Inui stated, "Fifty-nine he'll agree on Ryobe."

"Yadda," Ryoma declined. It sounds like Atobe and he hated that man.

"Ryonosuke," Tezuka said.

"Hn. Better but it doesn't suit him," Kaidoh commented, "Ryoshi?"

"Not bad, Kaidoh-senpai," Ryoma said. Who would've thought that Kaidoh was good at naming?

"His name doesn't necessarily need to start with 'Ryo'," Fuji mentioned.

"Problem two, solved," Tezuka said sternly. "You're now Echizen Ryoshi, cousin of your Echizen Ryoma nii-chan, who had to go back to America for some urgent business, without his parents knowing. There, problem one, solved. Now," he paused and looked at his teammate authoritatively, "We need to find the Ryuzakis now."

Talk about finishing a business early. Tezuka is really the type of guy who would want to solve a problem as early as possible.

"That's too bad," Eiji said, "Momo sent them away already."

"Should we bring Echizen to their house, then?" Oishi asked his captain.

Tezuka looked at Oishi seriously first and replied, "We need to call Ryuzaki-sensei for permission first."

"Sensei is kind. She'll definitely let Echizen live with them. Let's just make sure she won't find out about the truth," Oishi said.

Tezuka and the others nodded.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"After locking us out after you invited us, now _you _need my help?" Sumire said in an annoyed tone. Tezuka was the one speaking with her on her cell phone, making their discussion as formal as possible.

"I apologize for Momoshiro's behavior. Rest assured he'll be punished after what he had done. But please, Sensei, understand the situation at hand. Echizen left again for America for some urgent business. He left his cousin here in Japan without anyone to take care of him. Knowing Echizen, it's pretty believable, isn't it?" So, Tezuka could lie, too huh?

"Why don't you look after the child then?"

"We can't. We had urgent business to attend to and—"

"Listen, Tezuka. As much as I want to take care of a child, I too, have some urgent business to attend to. In fact, I'll be leaving tonight, and there'll only be my granddaughter living here."

At that, the captain's glasses beamed.

"I see. Ryuzaki-chan could take care of a child alone, couldn't she? She'd be perfect."

"Tezuka… are you practicing for your defense? In that case, you're taking this argument pretty well. The side's on you now."

"So," Tezuka looked at his companions and then at Echizen, "you'll take care of Ryoshi-kun, then?"

Sumire sighed in defeat, "Hai, hai."

Tezuka's glasses beamed again and after saying his formal departure words, he brought out the good news to his teammates, "Sensei agreed."

"Yahoo!" they cheered. "We knew Tezuka is good at these things!"

"Tezuka's smart, nya!"

"But—"

They stopped cheering midway. "What's the problem?"

"Echizen may like the situation but…" Tezuka paused.

_DRAMATIC SUSPENSION_

"Sensei won't be home and will be back on the last week of summer, which is four weeks from now."

Oh, they get it.

That means that…

"I-I'd be w-with Ryuzaki alone?" Ryoma unknowingly blurted out.

He'd be alone with the girl everyone believes he likes, maybe even _love. _

"You go, Echizen! Ah, youth," Momo cheered and Eiji followed after him, "O'chibi, go for it, nya!". Oishi just had to be a RyoSaku fan, too, "But make sure that you two still eats properly, okay? I heard there's a diseas—". "Eighty percent Echizen's going to do something perverted," Inui muttered and wrote down his 'data'. "Fshuu…" Kaidoh hissed. Who knows what that hiss meant. "Ryuzaki-chan should not let her guard down," Tezuka said, more to himself than to others. "I'll bring you guys sushi once in a while and to check on you, 'kay?" Taka offered but Fuji said, "Saa, don't do that, Taka-san. You'll only interrupt their moment."

A vein popped on Ryoma's head. First of all… he still does not understand the 'youth' that Momo and Eiji were talking about. Second, do not compare him to his perverted father! Anything but that! Third, Ryuzaki doesn't need to be alert since he's NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING PERVERTED! And fourth, they'll be doing nothing and there will be no interruptions that'll occur!

We'll see about that.

Echizen miraculously heard everyone's simultaneous thoughts.

But… being alone with Ryuzaki? All he knew about her is that she's his coach's granddaughter, and she'd been living with her since forever. Their families are close, too. That's a fact he learned recently when he saw a picture of a young him and Ryuzaki sleeping together in their garden back in America. She's also timid, clumsy, painfully shy, and terrible at tennis. Well, she's getting better, that's what Tezuka said before. Not like he asked Tezuka about her during that time. He just asked about the girl's tennis team and Tezuka just _assumed _he was asking about Ryuzaki. Well, he was not! She knows how to cook good food, too. That's a plus point. Wait. Plus point for what? Her charms? Does being a trouble-magnet counted as charms, too?

Well, he only knew little things about her. He never got the chance to know her well. She'd been busy with her club; he can't blame her for that. And he left for the US Open before, which only added the fact that they don't know each other well.

"Saa, Echizen. Go to you girlfriend now. Or do we still need to escort you?" Fuji said playfully. The others chuckled.

_Girlfriend? _

"Mada mada dane, senpai-tachi. Real grown-up men do not leave a mere six-year-old alone in the streets, do they?" Ryoma said in his _squeaky _six-year-old voice.

A vein popped on his senpai-tachi's head. He just wanted someone to accompany him. What a shy brat.

_She's not his girlfriend. She never was. She's just…_

"This arrogant brat! Bet'cha he'd been arrogant the day he was born," Momo said.

"Yeah," Eiji agreed childishly, "His first words were probably 'Mada mada dane'!"

_She's just… his coach's granddaughter, right? So then… why does he feel…_

"Anyway, we should leave now so that we could get Echizen some clothes," Oishi said.

"Oh, that's right! You look ridiculous with that oversized clothes of yours," Momo teased.

"Shut up."

"So, has anyone still kept their childhood clothes with them?" Fuji looked at everyone, hoping for an answer.

"Well, I've got some here. Wait," Taka-san went upstairs towards his room and rummage his closet for his childhood clothes. After he finally found them, he excitingly went downstairs and presented the clothes he got to Ryoma. He took a paper bag from one of the cupboards in the room and placed the clothes he got inside.

Fuji took a peek on the clothes inside the paper bag and smiled. He took one batch of clothes out and shoved it on Ryoma's face, "Saa. Wear them. You can't go to Sakuno-chan's house looking like that, ne?"

Sakuno-chan? What's up with the lack of formalities, _senpai? _If he was living in America, maybe it'd be fine because calling each other there with their first names is fine, even without formalities. But you're in Japan right now, and addressing someone's name and formalities are looked up to.

Ryoma took the clothes from Fuji's hands and went to the washroom, nevertheless. After he got changed, he went back to where the others were.

"Okay, let's go now." They all said and headed outside. They left Taka in the shop since he was needed there.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

The Seigaku Regulars stood in front of their coach's house. So far, they still have no idea if Ryuzaki-sensei already left or not. Only one way to find out…

_DING DONG_

After some seconds of silence, someone answered from inside. It was Sakuno's voice all right. So they all came to the conclusion that Ryuzaki-sensei already left. It was seven in the evening now, so sensei must've probably left just a few minutes ago.

"Hai?" the girl opened the door and stared at her seven senpai and one child who looks honestly familiar. "U-Uhm," she blushed and stuttered. She opened the gates for them and allowed them to get inside.

"Saku-chan, do you have some tea?" Eiji asked as he relaxed himself on the sofa. Oishi saw this as a rude act and therefore scolded his doubles team partner, who just 'nya-ed' in return.

"Its okay, Oishi-senpai," she smiled forcefully at them. She looked at the youngest one in the group and crouched to his height sweetly, "Hello there, Ryoshi-kun. I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno. I'll be taking care of you until your Ryoma-nii returns, okay?" she smiled sweetly at him.

Ryoma—no, Ryoshi stared at her and nodded.

Looks like her grandma already told her everything…

"So anyway, Sakuno-chan," Fuji disrupted, which made Sakuno stand up to face him. "Here are Ryoshi's clothes," he handed her the paper bag he was carrying. "Take care of him now. Ja," he waved to her and everyone else left.

Of course, Ryoma didn't fail to notice his senpai-tachi giving him thumbs up.

_Annoying._

After the last person of the group closed the door, the house suddenly went quiet again.

_Awkward._

Sakuno turned her head down to look at the young boy beside her, who only reached her thighs. They were at the entrance of the house since they watched the regulars took their leave.

_Adorable._

Sakuno blushed. And then, she can't control her feelings anymore. She scooped Ryoma up, who got surprised by her sudden actions and blushed when Sakuno rubbed her cheeks on his own.

_Abducted?_

"Kya~! I always dreamed of having a little brother!" she said excitingly, still continued on rubbing her cheeks with Ryoma's small ones. Then suddenly, she noticed what she was doing and blushed, "G-Gomen… I got too excited."

_Apology._

"Iya," he replied monotonously when Sakuno let him down.

So this is what it feels like being hugged by someone you like… Wait. What?

"Oh yeah," Sakuno crouched down to his level again, "You haven't introduce yourself properly. Now, tell. Me. Your. Name." she said in a seductive tone, at least, from Ryoma's perspective.

Ryoma flushed, "Y-You already know who I am."

"No," Sakuno closed her eyes and feigned a disappointed look, "I don't."

Ryoma sighed. After not seeing her for three years, this is what he gets? "Echizen Ryoshi, yoroshiku."

"Yoroshiku," Sakuno smiled sweetly at him. "Ryo-chan!"

Ryo-chan, huh? That's the name he'd been dreaming to give his future son.

"Hn. Ryuzaki—"

Sakuno's eyes widened. That tone he used to call her name. It seems really familiar. It's like… the way Ryoma called her before. Could it be that this child is…

"—nee-chan," Ryoma quickly added.

"Ne, Ryo-chan," it was Sakuno's turn to call his name, "Could you possibly be Ryoma-ku—"

_Oh shit._

She found out already! And not within five minutes of getting there! This is bad.

"Ryoma-kun's son?" she continued.

Eh?

Time stopped, for Ryoma at least.

"NO!" he yelled.

Sakuno giggled. "I know. I was just messing with you!" she wiped some tears from her eyes. "It's just… you look exactly like him. I could understand if he's your brother, is he?"

"No."

"Oh. So you're really his cousin then." Sakuno leaned closer to him, "Tell me, do you like him?"

Well, he's not a narcissist unlike some Hyotei Captain there.

"As a cousin, yeah."

Sakuno smiled gently at him. Ryoma lowered the brim of his cap to cover his eyes (or his flushed face). "You act the same way as him. You must really admire him, huh?" Who would not see that after the way _Ryoshi _lowered the brim of his cap coincidentally the same way _Ryoma _does?

"Do you?" Ryoma asked, trying to change the topic.

"Un," she replied. That was fast. "In fact, I really love him." She smiled sweetly after.

Ryoma's heart beat fastened. He had to control himself, QUICK!

"Ah sou. Nee-chan, I'm hungry." He said.

"Oh." Sakuno abruptly stood up and held Ryoma's hand. "Let's go in the kitchen. I've already prepared dinner."

Ryoma has got no choice but to follow the pigtailed girl, who _held his hand _with her _soft one._

:||**EnDoFfLaShBaCk**||:

:||**NoRmAlTiMeLiNe**||:

"I-I can't reach the stupid doorknob!" struggled a six-year-old child as he stretched his little arms higher, still not reaching the 'stupid' doorknob.

"Ryo-chan, if you want to open the door, you could ask me. You're still too little to reach the doorknob," a girl in her fifteens gently scolded the younger boy. "Oh, and stop cursing! Don't imitate that part of Ryoma-kun," she added as she opened the door for the younger one.

The younger one groaned in annoyance and lowered the brim of his cap.

Ryoma entered the room and immediately jump on his bed. After they ate dinner, Ryoma had asked Sakuno to lead him to his room, the only place where he believed he could relax. "Do you like your room, Ryo-chan?"

He just slightly nodded.

"The truth is, this is actually my room," she said happily. Ryoma stared shockingly at her. "I told you how I dreamt of having a little brother right? Well, siblings sleep together, right?"

"N-No."

"Demo, there are only two rooms here. One's for me and one's for Obaa-chan."

"I'll take granny's room then."

"Too bad," Sakuno smiled again, "Obaa-chan locked her room and she took the one and only key with her. So that means…"

That means that Ryuzaki and he are…

"We're going to sleep together!"

If only she knew who Ryoshi really is…

"Oh, and don't forget to take a bath first," she said in a cheery voice.

Ryoma was still blushing when he nodded.

"Come on," she carried Ryoma and unknowingly buried his head on her chest, which of course made the younger one hold his nose, if he doesn't want to nosebleed.

But, wait. Why is she carrying him?

"Nee-chan, let go of me! I can take a bath on my own!" he protested. Just thinking about Ryuzaki touching different parts of his body already made him redder than before. He just hopes she doesn't notice.

"What are you talking about? Of course I know Ryo-chan already knows how to take a bath himself."

Whew. So she's just taking her there, right?

"That's why I'm joining him."

And his heart felt like bursting…

… either from happiness or nervousness…

(Ryoma: OF COURSE IT'S NERVOUSNESS! I'M NOT A PERVERT!)

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: I think Ryoma turned really cute here… and slightly perverted keke and OOC XD. But he said he was just nervous right? Anyway, sorry for my grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, and OOCness—I'm an expert at that XD. Thank you, minna, for your reviews and please continue on supporting this fic.

Please review; tell me what part you liked and disliked :) and STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIES.

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

"_I'm not the perverted one, they are! How could they accuse me of such a thing! I should've never come with Kikumaru-senpai. I gained nothing by coming! I only received their constant naggings and babblings." Ryoma muttered under his breath as he was on his way home. The sun was already setting and it painted the once-blue skies orange, with a slight tint of indigo._

_When he turned around a corner, his eyes widened when he saw Sakuno's familiar figure. She was sitting outside a coffee shop named Coffee Indulgence, looking as if she's waiting for someone. It must be Tomo she's waiting for. Then, a black-haired guy sat across her and gave her an ice cream. She smiled at him and began eating the food the guy gave her. _

_Okay. _

_Ryoma felt really pissed. OFF._

_Ryuzaki said she loves him, didn't she? So now, why is she going out with that guy? And wasn't she supposed to be with Tomoka?_


	3. Chapter 3

:||**ReCaP**||:

"_What are you talking about? Of course I know Ryo-chan already knows how to take a bath himself."_

_Whew. So she's just taking her there, right?_

"_That's why I'm joining him."_

_And his heart felt like bursting…_

… _either from happiness or nervousness…_

:||**ChApTeRtHrEe**||:

_Heaven. Oh wonderful, wonderful, Heaven._

Nanjiroh's voice echoed inside Ryoma's mind.

The prince desperately wanted to remove that perverted father of his from his mind.

_Heaven? You call this heaven? This is fucking hell!_

Ryuzaki Sakuno began to unbutton her blouse.

_W-Well… maybe a bit higher than hell._

She removed her blouse and was now only wearing her bra and skirt.

_Earth?_

She looked at Ryoma who was still not doing anything. "What's wrong Ryo-chan? Don't you know how to remove your clothes?" Sakuno approached the small boy and kneeled in front of him. "Here, let me help you," she already had her hands on his shirt when he shifted. He had a really, _really _good view of her breast right now.

_Stupid bra._

Wait. What?

Sakuno stared at him for a few seconds before sighing. She stood up and began removing her skirt.

_Okay, higher than Earth._

She was now on her underwear. Then, she began to unhook her bra and tossed the thing aside.

_Thump, thump, thump_

As for the finale, she removed her panties. And don't forget that Ryoma was now small, and so he kind of had a really nice view of her being undressed.

_Heaven._

Ryoma scratched his head in annoyance as he just suddenly agreed with his Oyaji on something perverted like this. His father might be crying tears of joy if ever he found out about this. Sakuno dipped herself in the bathtub and relaxed. She looked curiously at Ryoma who was still dressed and unmoving. "Ryo-chan?"

Ryoma just blushed. "I-I can't… t-take a b-bath with you."

Sakuno grinned, "You're really shy, aren't you Ryoshi-sama?"

"N-No!" he protested.

"Then take your clothes off and join nee-chan here!"

"B-But!"

Sakuno sighed and stood up, giving Ryoma another full view of her nude. She walked towards Ryoma and quickly removed his clothes, despite the younger one's protest.

In a second, he found himself in the bathtub with his coach's granddaughter, who had buried his face on her chest again unknowingly, "Ryo-chan's really CUTE!"

Sigh.

Nosebleed.

Crap.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"There we go," Sakuno said as she finished drying Ryoma's dark-green hair with a blue towel. "It feels nice after taking a bath, ne?" she smiled cutely at Ryoma who was still blushing because of the scene that occurred prior. She had already put on her pajamas and she sat on the edge of her bed to dry her long wavy hair.

"Nee-chan," Ryoma called. "Where's my futon?"

Sakuno eyed him and giggled a bit. She carried Ryoma again and let him lay on her bed. "You'll be sleeping next to me in this bed."

_Thump, thump, thump_

"Hn."

"So tell me, Ryo-chan… do you play tennis?" Sakuno asked as she turned the lights off and lied down beside Ryoma.

"Uh, yeah."

Her eyes were sparkling.

"Me, too. Did Ryoma-kun ever teach you tennis?" Sakuno said as she looks at Ryoma admiringly.

"Uh… yeah," he said as he turned his back on her. "Sometimes."

Sakuno smiled and wrapped her arms around the young boy. The young boy felt her chest make contact with his back. The girl had really grown up. "You're really lucky to know someone as great as him."

Ryoma's eyes widened and turned his head a little to look at her, "What do you mean? Aren't you two friends?"

Sakuno forced a smile and shook her head. "No, we're not friends. We're more of an acquaintance than friends."

Then, Ryoma looked straight ahead, staring at the cream-colored wall. "Hn. But, nee-chan, you said you love him earlier, right?" He couldn't help but blush at the mention of that topic.

"I do. But, he doesn't feel the same way," she replied as she closed her eyes.

Ryoma felt uncomfortable now. He doesn't know if he likes her back or not… but he was sure with one thing: he considers her as his friend. "Nii-chan said," Ryoma began, not forgetting to address himself as 'nii-chan', "that he considers you as his friend."

"Ryo-chan, mou. You're just saying that to cheer me up," Sakuno's expression turned into a gentle smile. "Thank you."

But he does consider her as his friend! Why won't she believe that?

"W-Why do you say so?" Ryoma asked and turned around to face her.

"Because… he never really did pay attention to me," her gentle aura turned into a gloomy one.

"M-Maybe he was just shy!"

Sakuno laughed at Ryoma's predication. Ryoma is anything but shy—that's what everyone in the world believes.

"I'm saying the truth!"

Sakuno laughed again. "Ryo-chan, you must be tired. Let's sleep now, shall we?"

She closed her eyes and began drifting to sleep.

Ryoma sighed. He remembered the times in their freshmen year. Ryoma just really didn't bother on paying attention to her, because he assumed that she'll always stay there at the sidelines, watching him win his matches. He knew that she'll come when he asks, and that would be a regular thing. But fate decided to play its game on them. He was given the opportunity to become a pro and leave Japan, all the way leaving his friends and… _her._

"Ryuzaki…" he whispered. Ryoma felt something different. A new emotion has swelled up inside of him.

He reminisced the time she happily said how she loves him in front of his younger, six-year-old self again. There were a lot of girls who had confessed their undying love to him already… but he felt none. But during the time she said she loves him, he was forced to run away from the situation and change the topic, unlike the situation where he just coldly rejects a girl. And this new emotion that he had been feeling _all night _with her… he was sure he had already felt it before.

He just refused to entertain this emotion before that's why he didn't care.

But then…

Why is this emotion coming out right now?

And…

He can't do anything to stop it.

He balled his fist as shadows covered his eyes. This girl in front of him…

What makes her different from all the other girls?

Then, an answer hit Ryoma like the meteor that ceased dinosaurs to exist.

Ryuzaki Sakuno is his coach's granddaughter.

Yeah.

That's right. He was _obliged _to care for her because of that kind of relation…

Wasn't he?

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"Wake up, Ryo-chan," a girl's voice called his name. He stirred.

"Five more minutes."

Sakuno sat next to his lying body and grinned. She jumped into him and began shaking him, vigorously.

"Oyaji!" he yelled as he was in the middle of reality and dreamland.

"Oyaji?"

His eyes' widened and he abruptly sat up. "R-Ryuzaki!"

"Aw," she looked at him with worry, "You already miss your father?"

Ryoma was taken aback.

What the hell was he doing here? On Ryuzaki's bed, the least!

Oh yeah… he was transformed into a child.

Sigh.

"Gomen, nee-chan."

"Anyway, breakfast is ready." Sakuno said as she left the room.

After changing into his casual clothes, Ryoma went downstairs to join Sakuno at the table. She had already prepared breakfast for both of them. And his complicated thoughts were halted suddenly as soon as he saw Japanese-style breakfast served in front of him. He excitingly sat on one of the chairs of the dining room and grabbed his chopsticks. Nothing can stop him now…

"Ryo-chan," Sakuno called, which made Ryoma stop biting his fish midway. "Nani?"

She pointed an index finger on her cheek. "What are you supposed to say?"

"Uh," remembering Sakuno was brought up by her grandmother with good manners, he replied, "Thank you…?" he said hesitantly.

"What else?" Sakuno kept pointing on her cheek, as if asking him to do something with it. "Itadakimasu…?" Ryoma still couldn't figure out what Sakuno wanted him to tell her.

"No."

"It's good…?" how could he say that when he still haven't tasted the food yet?

Sakuno sighed and stood up. She was sitting across the younger boy, and so to just finish her complaints, she leaned closer to him and kissed his cheek.

Ryoma blushed.

Hard.

"From now on, whenever Ryo-chan is about to receive food from me, he's going to give his gratitude with a kiss!"

And then, he stuttered.

Sakuno just smiled at him.

The prince tremblingly began eating his favorite Japanese-style breakfast. She said he's supposed to kiss her every time they eat… so that means, since they're going to live together for two weeks, probably more, he had to kiss her three times a day for fourteen days…

Why does she keep on tempting him!

Sakuno smiled at the prince again. She just finds the young boy really adorable. Having a younger sibling, and this cute nonetheless, had now become a dream-come-true to her.

Then, she remembered the phone call she received from her Kikumaru-senpai earlier.

"Ryo-chan?"

Ryoma couldn't make himself look at her eyes now.

"Kikumaru-senpai said he's going to pick you up today. He said you two are going to hang out. Are you two close?"

Pick up? If Kikumaru-senpai wanted to meet him today… then that means that he's going to update him about the progression of the antidote, right? Maybe Inui-senpai doesn't need two weeks after all. Maybe he can finally go back to his normal self and leave Ryuzaki's place!

"Close enough," he replied. He looked at her eyes and blushed. "Ryoma-nii-chan introduced me to him."

"Oh," Sakuno seemed to believe him. "Well, Tomo-chan invited me to watch a movie with her… I guess I won't be home until later. So I should give you a spare key for this house, shouldn't I?"

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"O'chibi!"

Kikumaru arrived at Sakuno's house shortly after they finished breakfast. He took Ryoma with him and excitingly led him to Kawamura's Sushi Shop. And it was not a surprise for the younger one when he saw Momo-senpai, Inui-senpai and Fuji-senpai already in. Of course, Taka-san was also there.

Ryoma assumed that his suffering will finally meet its end. Inui-senpai had finished making the antidote and he'll live as the fifteen-year-old prodigy of Japan again. But all of his thoughts were all assumptions.

"Iie," answered the data man when Ryoma asked him about the antidote, "I'm still recreating the 'Tasteless Terror' juice so that I could make a reverse version of it."

Crappy hell.

"Then why'd you bring me here?" Ryoma asked furiously.

"For _you _to give us an update," Fuji replied.

Ryoma's eyes flashed dangerously. He's the one whom they supposed to give an update to right? What the hell are they talking about? What update should he give them?

"Sakuno-chan. How's living with her?" Momo asked.

How's living with her! HOW'S LIVING WITH HER! He had only started living with her last night, and they supposed he could give them a story! Well, he was not, never, their storyteller. If there will be a story being _told _here, it would be Inui-senpai giving him a chart about the progress of the antidote or something. And why did they ask him to spend time with them anyway? He could be spending time with Sakuno instead… Wait. What?

"I envy O'chibi," Kikumaru said as he folded his arms behind his head and leaned his back on the wall. "Being able to live with your crush and all…"

"Yeah, I'm envious Echizen, I envy you," Momo said, agreeing with Eiji.

"Oh, so are you saying you want to live with The Queen of Street Tennis too, Momo?" Fuji teased.

"Queen of Street Tennis?" Eiji asked Fuji, curiously wondering who this 'Queen' is.

"Tachibana's imouto," Ryoma replied. Momo blushed furiously.

Eiji grinned and joined teasing Momo. "I always knew you had a thing for her!"

Momo denied it and he focused the topic again on Echizen, "S-So," he said as he continued blushing, "h-how about The Queen of the Prince's Heart?"

"Ooh!" Eiji grinned, "Nice one, Momo, nyah!" He high-five Momo for the achievement of their teasing.

Ryoma twitched. "I don't know what you're talking about, King of Dorks."

A vein popped on Momo's head. He would not tolerate this misbehavior! Respect, man! He needs respect! He was about to strangle Echizen when the door to the sushi shop opened.

"Hello there," said a girl's timid voice.

Fuji smiled and waved his hand at Tomoka and Sakuno.

Sakuno and Tomoka walked towards them and bowed. Tomoka noticed Ryoma and squealed. "Kya~! So this is Ryoma-sama's cousin, Ryoshi! He looks like Ryoma-sama!"

Sakuno nodded shyly.

Ryoma wondered: why is Sakuno different whenever there are only two of them around? She's all cute and cheerful when they're alone, and then she turns into the shy, timid girl he always knew whenever she's around others. Somehow, it made Ryoma happy to see another side of Sakuno that no one has seen before. Then, he noticed Sakuno looked at him.

"Oh yeah, Ryo-chan!" Sakuno said, "Don't forget to say 'thank you' to the senpais for spending time with you."

Momo and the others grinned. Ryoma nodded.

"Ne, Saku-chan," Eiji asked cheerfully. "Tell me, what do you think of little Ryo-chan here?"

Sakuno looked at Eiji with wonder for a moment before answering, "Ryo-chan is really shy!"

"Eh?" Momo said unbelievably. Echizen Ryoma is anything but shy! If he's alone with a girl he likes, he probably would have done something perverted to her or just plainly ignore and be rude to her, not stammering… or blushing or being SHY!

Well, that's what Ryoma did the whole time he was with Sakuno.

"How can you say that Saku-chan?" Fuji asked, with his cerulean eyes opened. "Ryo-chan is really an arrogant, disrespectful brat."

"No, not at all," Sakuno replied. "In fact, he was really shy when we took a bath together."

. . . . . . . . . .

"Oh."

. . . . . . . . . .

"Wait. What?"

Inui's glasses beamed. Eiji and the others looked at Ryoma.

"And he was really adorable when we slept together!" Sakuno said cutely. Then, Tomoka looked at her wristwatch and hurried Sakuno to leave with her. After all, they only came in the shop to pay their respects to Kawamura-senpai. They never knew that Ryoma and the others were there. They had to go quick or else they'll miss the movie. Tomo pushed Sakuno outside and hurried her to the movie theater.

And the two girls were gone.

. . . . . . . . . .

"O'CHIBI YOU CREEP!" Eiji yelled loudly which made the sushi shop tremble (Yes, the Shop itself!).

"HOW PERVERTED! HOW PERVERTED INDEED!" Momo pointed an accusing finger at Ryoma.

"Saa, I never knew he'd actually do it."

"One hundred percent chance that you envy him, Fuji," Inui said monotonously.

Fuji smiled at Inui, "How could I not? I've never seen a nude girl before… except for my nee-chan and oka-san."

Eiji and Momo leaned threateningly at Ryoma, who just backed away until he met a dead end.

"L-Listen senpai… I-It was Ryuzaki who wanted to take a bath with me! A-And I don't like her that way! B-Besides, I'm a six-year-old innocent child!" Ryoma defended.

"But still! You saw her naked, right! How could you!" Momo yelled in Ryoma's ear.

"That's right O'chibi! You must've had a great experience with her all night! While your senpai-tachi worry about you! How selfish, nya!"

"You didn't touch her, did you?" Fuji asked sadistically. "And you're a fifteen-year-old teen inside a six-year-old boy's body."

Ryoma glared at all of them. "IT WAS HER, ALRIGHT!"

"IT WAS YOU!" they yelled simultaneously.

Taka-san just smiled at his friends' arguments.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"I'm not the perverted one, they are! How could they accuse me of such a thing! I should've never come with Kikumaru-senpai. I gained nothing by coming! I only received their constant naggings and babblings." Ryoma muttered under his breath as he was on his way home. The sun was already setting and it painted the once-blue skies orange, with a slight tint of indigo.

When he turned around a corner, his eyes widened when he saw Sakuno's familiar figure. She was sitting outside a coffee shop named Coffee Indulgence, looking as if she's waiting for someone. It must be Tomo she's waiting for. Then, a black-haired guy sat across her and gave her an ice cream. She smiled at him and began eating the food the guy gave her.

Okay.

Ryoma felt really pissed. OFF.

Ryuzaki said she loves him, didn't she? So now, why is she going out with that guy? And wasn't she supposed to be with Tomoka?

The guy gently held her hand and kissed it with his dirty lips. Instinctually, Ryoma interrupted their scene when he kicked that guy's _sensitive part. _He had lesser pinpoint precision, but he still managed to kick _it _H-A-R-D. Sakuno stood up, surprised at Ryoma's sudden appearance. The ice cream she only managed to lick thrice dropped on the cemented floor. The guy held his _you-know-what _and rolled on the ground, desperately trying to make the immense pain go away. His green eyes glared at the _kid _who kicked his important part. Everyone present in the scene paused from whatever they were doing to watch them.

"R-Ryo-chan! W-What are you doing! W-Why did you—"

Sakuno was silenced when Ryoma held the hem of her skirt. "R-Ryo-chan?"

"Sakuno-chan!" the guy from before yelled. "W-Who is this kid!"

Sakuno's worried look shifted from Ryoma to him, "G-Gomen, Akaya-kun. He's Ryoma-kun's cousin, Echizen Ryoshi."

Akaya?

Ryoma turned his head to look at the guy. He finally recognized the man rolling in pain on the ground.

But the first question that popped on the young boy's mind was: What the hell is Kirihara Akaya doing with her?

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Well, what do you think? I am trying my best to improve my skills and style that's why it came out a little inconsistent. And nothing much happened in this chapter… Anyway, do you like how Kirihara entered this fic? Or you hated it? Are the characters still OOC (of course they are; I'm the master of OOCness)? Or is it safe for me yet? Are there any grammatical errors (of course there are; I suck) and spelling mistakes? Please tell me in your reviews!

BTW, _Coffee Indulgence _is an eatery on a street near my University. It's not really a coffee shop, but I just figured I should name the coffee shop in this fic with the same as that one. Figured I should give them the credits for the name :D

Oh, thank you very much for your kind reviews. And don't forget: I DO NOT OWN POT.

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

"_You see… I've already told you I like Ryoma-kun, right? But the problem is he doesn't like me the same way I do. I can't keep on forcing myself to him, when I'm sure that I'll get nothing in return. There are just some times when someone feels an unrequited love. It's better to let go immediately before the feelings deepen. It'll only be painful to say goodbye when it deepens…"_

"_Then, why don't you wait until he returns that feeling then?" Ryoma asked irritatingly again. For him, whatever Sakuno was saying is irrelevant. She was just thinking about herself. She never looked at what the other person might be feeling about her._

_Sakuno looked at Ryoma in surprise. Kids must be already logical about these things. She never expected Ryo-chan to understand these kinds of talk. She shrugged and replied, "It's Ryoma-kun. My feelings will never reach him, let alone return to me."_

"_Try me." He challenged._

"_Eh?"_

"_I-I mean… nii-chan told me that he kind of… likes… a girl… in his school… He doesn't know if it's love yet… but still…"_

_Sakuno smiled at him. The kid's trying to cheer her up again. "Ryo-chan, please understand that Ryoma-kun doesn't like me that way. And the girl he mentioned… it's highly impossible to be me."_


	4. Chapter 4

:||**ReCaP**||:

_Ryoma turned his head to look at the guy. He finally recognized the man rolling in pain on the ground._

_But the first question that popped on the young boy's mind was: What the hell is Kirihara Akaya doing with her?_

:||**ChApTeRfOuR**||:

It hurts him.

It really hurts him.

Sakuno said she loves him, right? So then, why is she out dating the Junior Ace of Rikkaidai?

Wait a minute.

He's not hurt because he feels the same way with her. He's just hurt because she actually _lied _to him. Although… she never really told _him. _She just told her feelings to his six-year-old self.

Argh! He hated this kind of feeling! He was never the master of mixed emotions! When he feels something, it's always having something to do with tennis. Otherwise, his feelings are composed mostly of nonchalance. But seeing this guy flirt with Sakuno…

"Kid!" Kirihara said, "Apologize to me now!" he glared furiously at the young boy.

When Ryoma glared back, Kirihara just sighed and figured that the kid probably had that bad habit along with the _other _Echizen he knows. No use arguing with this child. "Fine. I forgive you."

"No, Ryo-chan!" Sakuno scolded the boy, "Apologize to Akaya-nii-chan now!"

Why the hell does she address him by his first name!

Ryoma didn't look at her eyes. He hates apologizing, let alone apologizing to Kirihara. "Yadda," he said menacingly.

Sakuno narrowed her brows. She crouched to the young one's level and pinched Ryoma's puffy cheeks hardly, "A-po-lo-gize now!"

"Ah," Ryoma struggled, "Fine, fine! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He said untruthfully with his darkened heart.

"Che. Brat," Kirihara said.

Sakuno knitted her brows worriedly as she stood up, "Mou, Ryo-chan… why did you suddenly attack Akaya-kun?"

"Hn!" he glared at Akaya again. "Nee-chan," he feigned whining and reached his arms out to Sakuno childishly, "Carry me!"

Sakuno sighed and carried him. He had his head stuck out on her shoulders as he grinned evilly at Kirihara. At least he could still hug her… not saying he wants to hug her… he just wanted to, uh… protect his coach's granddaughter. He mouthed the words, "Mada mada dane" to Kirihara.

To say that Kirihara is taken aback was an understatement.

"Let's go home, nee-chan!" Ryoma whined again. "I'm hungry!"

Sakuno looked at Ryoma with understanding and turned to Kirihara with an apologetic look. Right now, she felt obliged to give Ryoshi the _priority treatment _since he's only a child.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Sakuno held Ryoma's hand as they were walking towards home. Ryoma kept on wondering why Sakuno would go out with Kirihara, when she was with Tomoka earlier. And didn't she say she already likes him?

Finally not being able to hold it out any longer, he blurted out his thoughts on her, "Nee-chan, why are you out with that guy?"

Sakuno looked at him and stared ahead, "He was courting me."

"I thought you already like me!"

Stare….

"I-I mean nii-chan!"

Sakuno sighed, "Ryo-chan… you wouldn't understand; you're still young."

"At least tell me why you allowed that guy to court you…" he said in a low, annoyed voice.

"You see… I've already told you I like Ryoma-kun, right? But the problem is he doesn't like me the same way I do. I can't keep on forcing myself to him, when I'm sure that I'll get nothing in return. There are just some times when someone feels an unrequited love. It's better to let go immediately before the feelings deepen. It'll only be painful to say goodbye when it deepens…"

"Then, why don't you wait until he returns that feeling then?" Ryoma asked irritatingly again. For him, whatever Sakuno was saying is irrelevant. She was just thinking about herself. She never looked at what the other person might be feeling about her.

Sakuno looked at Ryoma in surprise. Kids must be already logical about these things. She never expected Ryo-chan to understand these kinds of talk. She shrugged and replied, "It's Ryoma-kun. My feelings will never reach him, let alone return to me."

"Try me." He challenged.

"Eh?"

"I-I mean… nii-chan told me that he kind of… likes… a girl… in his school… He doesn't know if it's love yet… but still…"

Sakuno smiled at him. The kid's trying to cheer her up again. "Ryo-chan, please understand that Ryoma-kun doesn't like me that way. And the girl he mentioned… it's highly impossible to be me."

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

What the hell had he been saying to her all day!

Ryoma stared at Sakuno's sleeping figure beside him. He reminisced what they talked about on their way home. He practically told her he likes her! He was not even sure about his own feelings for her. Why would he say that his 'Ryoma-nii-chan' likes someone from his school?

What's worse?

She didn't believe him! She just assumed that Ryo-chan only said that to cheer her up! This felt like hell.

The next day, Ryoma went to Seigaku to check on his senpai-tachi. Sakuno accompanied him and they went towards the tennis courts, when they saw them having practice matches. Ryoma immediately went towards Inui who was busy writing something on his notebook as he muttered incoherent words. Inui noticed his kouhai's small figure and crouched down to his height.

"You're here." Inui stated.

"Inui-senpai. Antidote," Ryoma replied as he narrowed his brows on his senpai.

"Forty-percent complete," Inui informed.

"When?"

"Fifty-five percent chance on Friday," Inui said monotonously.

"That's two days from now."

"Until then, just enjoy your time with Ryuzaki-chan."

Their short conversation ended.

"Ryo-chan!" Sakuno waved her hand as she tried to get the boy's attention. She had a can of Ponta on her other hand as she waved lively at her _little brother._

Ryoma lowered the brim of his cap and pretended to be cool as he approached the girl.

That was when all the other regular members of the tennis club noticed the kid's arrival. Eiji jumped excitingly around and stopped midway from calling his O'chibi's name when he saw Sakuno carrying the little boy like a stuffed toy.

Momo and Oishi stopped their rally when they noticed the scene that the two made.

Sakuno approached them and bowed politely at her senpais. Ryoma had his back turned to them. His face was near her chest, again. "Sorry for disturbing you, senpai-tachi. Ryo-chan wanted to visit you guys."

They turned their head to the kid she was carrying.

An angry vein twitched in their foreheads.

Momo forced a laugh and approached the girl. "Oh I see, Sakuno-chan! You can leave Echizen… RYOSHI! Echizen Ryoshi, haha that's his name right? So… anyway, you can leave him to us. We'll take care of him. You can go now!"

Ryoma had a sweat dropped. His senpai-tachi were still mad at him for _unintentionally accidentally with a hint of purposely _taking a bath with Sakuno _and _sleeping with her. Jealous-freaks.

Sakuno nodded as she puts Ryoma down. She was about to go when Fuji's voice stopped her. "Sakuno-chan, Echizen said he'll be calling you later."

Then, they all wondered what Fuji was up to.

"Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno turned around to face the smiling tensai.

"Hmmm," Fuji feigned thinking, "He said it's about Ryo-chan. He just wanted to ask if he was okay."

Sakuno smiled weakly and nodded. She shrugged whatever she was thinking and said to Ryo-chan, "You heard that, Ryo-chan? Ryoma-kun is going to call tonight! You can finally talk to him!"

"A-Ah," Ryoma responded and looked curiously at Fuji. How was he going to call her as Ryoma (who she believes in America), when he's at home with her as Ryo-chan? What's Fuji-senpai had in mind?

"Oh and Sakuno-chan, if it's not a bother," Fuji said again, "Could Ryo-chan sleep with us tonight? We're having a sleepover at Inui's place. We already informed Echizen about this."

Sakuno sighed and smiled again. "Sure. Well then, I'll go now."

She turned around and everybody waved to her. They pretended not having any worries. As she was out of sight, everyone turned to Fuji, with the same question on their mind.

"Saa," Fuji explained, "That's why Echizen will be with us tonight, so that he could call her without any suspicions."

"We know that, Fujiko!" Eiji said, "But, why?"

Fuji looked at Ryoma meaningfully. "Sakuno-chan already misses Echizen. She only knows that he's in America, taking care of some things, when the truth is, he's just living with her. She may not look like it, but it's a fact that she's worried for him."

Ryoma lowered the brim of his cap, again. "Why are you doing this, Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji's eyes stared seriously at Ryoma. "You've already realized your feelings for her, have you?"

They looked at Echizen, expecting an answer in the form of an agreement.

Ryoma looked down. He _wanted _to _pretend _that he did not know what Fuji was talking about.

"You do know that Kirihara Akaya from Rikkai is courting her, don't you?" Tezuka suddenly interrupted.

Everyone eyed Tezuka surprisingly. "Surely you must have already had that sense of possessiveness when you saw them together."

Possessiveness? That's what he had been feeling last night?

"No." Ryoma replied stubbornly, "I mean, I already know that Kirihara is courting her… but no, I did not have that sense of possessiveness you're talking about."

Tezuka sighed and looked at Fuji; indicating that he wants Fuji to take over.

"Echizen, if you keep on denying these feelings of yours, you'll never be able to tell her what you feel."

His senpai-tachi were deliberately taking advantage of his situation. And they were giving him love advice, for god's sake! Even Tezuka stepped in. "I already told you," Ryoma had enough, "I don't like her that way! I'm only obliged to care for her because she's Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter!"

"Don't give us that crap," Kaidoh was the one who spoke this time.

Ryoma looked at Kaidoh. Not Kaidoh, too.

"As much as I hated saying this, Mamushi is right," Momo said as he took one step closer to Ryoma.

Oishi nodded. "Ryuzaki-sensei is also our coach. Sure, we care for her, but not as much as you do."

"Nya, Oishi's right!" Eiji nodded knowingly as he crossed his arms on his chest. Then, remembering about the conversation ago, he turned to Tezuka, "Ne, Tezuka… Is Kirihara from Rikkai really courting her?"

Tezuka nodded.

"How'd you know that, buchou?" Momo asked.

"The rest doesn't matter." Tezuka looked at Echizen again. "We're going to sleep at Inui's house and you're going to call Ryuzaki-chan to tell her how you feel."

Remembering his confused feelings yesterday, Ryoma thought that maybe his senpai-tachi were right. Maybe he was in love with her… And maybe his useless seniors aren't really useless after all. At least he could tell her personally, although indirectly, that he already has feelings for her. And then, she'll realize that Ryo-chan had been saying the truth all along.

"Fine."

But… is he really in love with her?

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Everyone (except Taka—he was needed at the shop) gathered inside Inui's house after their practice games. It was already nine in the evening and everyone was eager for Ryoma to call Sakuno already. But before they waited for what Echizen was about to do, they got a sneak peek on the progression of the antidote. As usual, its color was still non-existent and unexplainable. But Inui said that it was already forty percent done. He even had a guinea pig next to his Chemistry Set for testing purposes.

Curiously, Eiji grabbed the mug where the incomplete version of the antidote is. He stared at it curiously like a child. Momo, who was eating chips hungrily, approached Eiji and curiously looked at what his senpai was doing. His presence surprised the acrobat and he accidentally released the mug from his hold and it fell on the guinea pig who drank it not knowing it was Inui's juice.

Inui shockingly ran towards the two and helplessly watched the guinea pig finish drinking his creation.

But the one at shock most was Ryoma.

"T-The antidote!"

Then, the guinea pig magically turned bigger… and looked older.

"EH!" They all yelled shockingly as their cheeks already rubbed together because of their closeness.

Inui's glasses beamed, "It seems like the antidote was already done. I must have miscalculated."

Ryoma glared at Momo and Eiji.

"Wait, Inui." Fuji interrupted before Ryoma could stab his senpai-tachi. "What's this?" He pointed towards the test tube where an equally-colored substance with the antidote sizzled.

"Ah," Inui recognized that concoction. "That's the other version of the antidote. I made an exact copy in case the original antidote turns out to be a failure."

"Exact copy?" Eiji and Momo chorused excitingly. "T-That means we never really destroyed the antidote!" they looked hopefully at Echizen who stopped his attack on them.

"Then, why don't we let Echizen drink the thing?" Oishi asked.

"Yeah," they all agreed.

As much as Ryoma desperately wanted to return back to normal, he was still unsure about what Inui made. More accurately, he doesn't want to taste it. But that's the only way to return to normal. He grabbed the test tube and gulped it as fast as his twist serve. Everyone expectantly looked at him.

And alas, a blinding light filled the room that the regulars had to close their eyes. After the light subsided, their eyes filled with happiness when Ryoma finally turned back to his old fifteen-year-old self!

Momo and Eiji raised their hands with excitement.

"ALRIGHT! He's finally cured!"

Ryoma stared at his hands with disbelief. His arms were now longer… and he was not that small again, either. He faced a mirror and found himself smiling as he finally returned back to his normal self again.

"But now, he can't take a bath nor sleep with her anymore." Fuji stated which made the prince look confusedly at him.

A small device called a cellular phone blocked his vision.

"Now," Fuji said as he shoved the phone on his face. "Call Saku-chan right now."

Oh yeah, he forgot about that.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

_Ring Ring Ring_

Sakuno looked up from her book and turned her head towards the thing that caused the noise. She blushed as she was thinking that it was Ryoma. She nervously stood up and picked up the phone tremblingly.

"H-Hello? R-Ryuzaki residence," she stuttered. There was an awkward silence before someone spoke.

"_Hn," _it was Ryoma's voice.

"R-Ryoma-kun!"

"_Yo."_

"Ah… e-eto… a-anou… G-Good evening… I-I mean… m-morning! I-It's m-morning there in A-America, right?"

Ryoma sighed. He looked at his senpai-tachi who were either giving him thumbs up, or holding a piece of paper with words written on it that may help him start a conversation.

"_Yeah, it's morning here."_

"A-Anou… y-you called to ask about Ryo-chan, right? H-He's doing fine. In fact… he's at Inui-senpai's house right now, hanging out with the other senpais."

"_Ah."_

How could Sakuno start a conversation if he just kept on replying with monosyllabic words? But she figured it was so Ryoma to do so. She remembered the times when he was with his senpai-tachi. He was always livelier and happier when he was with them. Maybe he really doesn't like her. Maybe he was just doing this because he felt like he needed to at least _care _for her because of her grandmother. She tightened her grip on her landline phone and smiled weakly at the thought of that fact.

"_Ryo-chan said he was having a great time with you."_

Sakuno's brown orbs widened. "O-Oh… h-he was a g-good boy, too."

"_I know." _

Sakuno blushed. She smiled after. She answered cheerfully, "And it looks like he looks up to you. You're his role-model!"

Ryoma smiled a little. Her stuttering disappeared and she's back to her cheerful self again. "_I also heard that you cook great."_

Sakuno blushed again. She scratched the back of her head. She was very flattered. "I-I'm not t-that good, but I'm glad that Ryo-chan loves my cooking!"

When Ryoma was about to answer, Momo slumped to him. Momo mouthed the words, "Tell her you love her!" to him. Ryoma blushed and glared annoyingly at his senpai. Oishi hushed Momo down and dragged him away from Ryoma. Ryoma continued on glaring at Momo and he saw that Tezuka looked at him meaningfully. Next to him, Fuji raised a piece of paper with the words "Kirihara might take her away from you if you don't confess!" written on it. Ryoma sighed again.

"_Ryuzaki…" _he started. He was never fond of the emotion called 'nervousness' but he was feeling this a lot since he and Sakuno started to live together; which was only two days ago.

"Hai?"

"_Ryo-chan mentioned that I already like someone, didn't he?" _Ryoma inhaled deeply.

"H-Hai." She blushed. What was Ryoma going to tell her now? She got scared when she thought that Ryoma wanted her to give him some love advice… She doesn't know if she'll be able to answer. All she knows is that this is going to hurt her. A lot.

"_T-The truth is," _Ryoma can't believe he actually stuttered. He inhaled deeply again in an attempt to calm himself down. Is there another way out? He glanced at his senpai-tachi again, hoping that they would spare him this time.

Wait.

Why does he even need to do it? His senpai-tachi can't control him!

But…

This is a once in a lifetime chance…

He thought deeply of what he was going to say next. He had already taken his time and made Sakuno wait for almost a minute. He won't say it immediately. He'll just say some few other related words… then he'd tell her the truth afterwards.

"_The truth is… I wanted to ask you for some advice. How would I confess to her properly? What do you—girls—usually look for in a confession?" _There. Maybe he would ask her, the girl he likes, herself, and then his confession would turn out successful.

Silly kid, his senpai-tachi all thought.

Sakuno expected this. He was really going to ask for some love advice for a girl he likes. A girl he likes that is not her. She replied with an empty smile, "Just tell her. She'll say yes for sure. You're pretty likable," she was almost at tears. But she forced a cheerful laugh, just to not make him worry.

Ryoma was never really the ego-complex type—okay, he was also an ego-complex type but not as 'complex-ed' as the Monkey King—so he just shrugged what Sakuno said about being 'likable'. "_Just tell her, huh?" _he smirked.

"Un," her voice was faltering but the prince did not notice. "A-And… a-and—"

"_Okay then. I'm going to tell you something." _Here comes his climax (not in an M-rated way). He'll say that it was her he likes and then she'll be happy and then he'll go to her house looking as his old fifteen-year-old self and then they'll be together and then he'll mock Kirihara and then… well, he'll just tell her that Ryo-chan went back to America. The perfect plan.

_DING DONG_

Ryoma heard Sakuno's doorbell rang from the other end of the line and she immediately said, "Someone's at the door. Nice talking to you, Ryoma-kun."

"_Wait." _Ryoma tried to stop her but she cut him off.

"Sayonara," Sakuno said in a low yet sorrowful tone. And then she hanged up.

Ryoma had his mouth open as he was surprised at the sudden change of his plan. He stared at Fuji-senpai's phone unbelievably.

His senpai-tachi noticed that Ryoma already turned the phone off. They instantaneously went towards him and Momo-senpai was about to ask him what happened when the prince just dashed out of the room and out of the house.

They looked confusedly at the trail that Ryoma left behind.

"M-Maybe he didn't get the chance to tell her…?" Oishi said unsurely.

They continued on staring at the door the prince used to leave the room. Then, Inui stared at his _older _guinea pig and his glasses beamed in shock when he noticed that the little furry animal was transforming back into its usual _younger _version. He yelled which caused everyone's attention shift to him.

Their eyes widened when they looked at the guinea pig.

"Oh no," Eiji said nervously.

"E-Echizen!" Momo yelled and tried to run after him.

The other senpais followed suit.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Ryoma ran as fast as he can. He stepped on puddles which splashed upon contact with his weight. He may not run as fast as his Kikumaru-senpai but his tennis trainings for the last fifteen years of his life still helped him ran swiftly. She misunderstood the situation. She did not even let him finish what he wanted to say. She must have thought that he was referring to another girl.

If he just had told her straight, then this would have never happened!

But that's what he was doing right now; he was going to fix the misunderstandings and the situation itself!

He finally had the view of her house. He quickened his pace and opened the gates quickly. He turned the knob open but it was locked and so he quickly searched his pocket for the spare key she gave him. He opened the door and stepped inside. He noticed that there was another pair of shoes in the entrance of the house.

A guest?

Shrugging it aside, he reached the doorknob of the living room. But he did not notice a familiar blinding light surrounding him as he opened the door.

"RYUZAKI!" he yelled.

His golden orbs widened in shock upon seeing a familiar seaweed head sitting on the couch, comforting a certain twin braided auburn head girl.

"ECHIZEN!" he heard his senpai-tachi called but he ignored it. Right now, he wanted to tear that guy with her open and rip his limbs out.

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: That's the chapter for the day! And yes, that's a cliffhanger! Thanks for the reviews by the way :) What do you think will happen next? Because frankly, I think the next chapter's going to be boring… T.T Just like this one… Anyway…

I disclaim.

Reviews are always welcomed! Constructive criticisms are loved! Flames are reported for its injustice-ness.

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

_Everyone was leaning forward, expectant of an answer in the form of an agreement._

_Tezuka sighed. "Fine. I'll talk to him," he said stoically. _

_Tezuka stood up from his chair and purposely brought the book he was reading with him. He was right in front of the door when he turned back and glared at his teammates, "Additional 20 laps around the field tomorrow." And with that, he left the room and headed straight outside Inui's home._

_Everyone was left sweat dropping._

_Eiji ran to the balcony to see Tezuka off and yelled, enough for the whole neighborhood to hear, "Tezuka! We left O'chibi at the shopping district near here!"_

_Tezuka simply waved his hand which was holding his book, showing that he understood and know where he was going._


	5. Chapter 5

:||**ReCaP**||:

_His golden orbs widened in shock upon seeing a familiar seaweed head sitting on the couch, comforting a certain twin braided auburn head girl._

"_ECHIZEN!" he heard his senpai-tachi called but he ignored it. Right now, he wanted to tear that guy open and rip his limbs out._

:||**ChApTeRfIvE**||:

Kirihara had his right arm wrapped around Sakuno's waist while the girl buried her head in his chest. His other hand caressing her auburn hair while both of her hands were covering her own face. Ryoma walked towards them, stomping angrily all the way. He glared at Kirihara. His glare was utterly furious. In fact, no one had ever seen him look at someone like this before. Kirihara's green eyes turned towards Ryoma. His brows knitted upon recognizing the little kid whom he met earlier (and the one who caused him _a lot _of physical pain).

"What are you doing?" Ryoma said in a low threatening voice. Kirihara simply raised a brow while Sakuno turned her head to him.

Ryoma clenched his fist and was about to grab the guy's collar when he suddenly noticed that he can't reach him. In fact, he was looking up as he stares at them! Almost forgetting his rage for a second, Ryoma looked at himself again. He was back to his six-year-old self! How'd that happen?

Sakuno sat up straight and wiped her tears. She sniffed as she stood up and crouched down in front of Ryoma. "Ryo-chan, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at Inui-senpai's with the others?" she asked with a tone she forced to be cheerful.

Ryoma looked up and saw her eyes. They were all red and swelled up, as if she'd been crying for hours. Ryoma felt a bit guilty. He avoided eye contact with her and looked down.

Sakuno, on the other hand, patted the little boy's head and smiled at him.

Kirihara sighed and stood up. He placed both of his hands on either side of his pocket and shifted his weight into one foot. He looked sideways, trying to ignore Sakuno and Ryo-chan's moment. And as he looked sideways, he caught a glimpse of the other Seigaku High regulars from behind the door leading to the hallway.

And that was their cue to enter the room.

Momo scratched his nape as he approached the girl and the kid in the middle of the room. He bended down, just like Sakuno, and explained. "Gomen na, Sakuno-chan! This kid just misses you so much he ran all the way here just to check on you!"

Sakuno looked at Momo-senpai and nodded in understanding.

"Hey," Ryoma suddenly said. He called Kirihara and glared at him, "What are you doing here?"

Kirihara glared back at him. "None of your business, kid."

Ryoma grunted. He was totally ANNOYED. And before he could kick the Junior Ace's _sensitive _part again, Eiji stopped him. "Now, now, O'chibi! Don't be rude to your elders!"

Kirihara made a mocking noise.

Eiji looked at Sakuno and told her, "Sorry, Saku-chan. We'll be taking Ryo-chan back again at Inui's house, nya!"

"Yeah," Momo forced a laugh as he stood up, "W-We'll be going now, right Ryo-chan?"

Ryoma glared at Momo and Eiji before heading outside, where he saw all of his other senpais (except Tezuka) waiting.

Sakuno stared worryingly at the child as he disappeared from the room. Kirihara walked towards her and helped her stood up. "S-Senpai, a-anou… a-about R-Ryo-chan…"

Her senpais looked at her understandingly. They nodded and bid their farewells. But as they passed by Kirihara's side, Momo made sure he heard the words "Don't you be taking her from our freshman now, Rikkai," before heading out. Kirihara simply shrugged it off.

"Akaya-kun, I'll see them out," Sakuno said. Kirihara nodded and followed her.

As she was at the porch of her house, she found all of her other senpais casually standing out, with different expressions on their faces. They noticed the redness of her eyes, and Oishi began to worry.

"R-Ryuzaki-chan… what happened?" Oishi asked as he stepped one foot forward.

"Did that Kirihara hurt you?" Kaidoh hissed and glared angrily at Kirihara, who was beside her.

"Hey! I did not hurt—" Kirihara was cut off when Sakuno held one hand up to stop him.

"Don't worry, senpai-tachi. I-I w-was just… Akaya-kun was just c-comforting me."

"So it's Echizen who made you cry," Fuji said, with a creepy smile etched on his face.

Fuji's other teammates simultaneously turned their heads to the smallest person of the group. Sakuno turned her head at her side, indicating that what Fuji said was a fact. Kirihara turned his eyes to Sakuno worriedly. "S-Sakuno-chan…?"

Sakuno turned her head to her senpais and forced a smile. There was some sparkle in her eyes, clearly showing that her tears had not completely subsided yet. She shook her head and answered, "No, it wasn't Ryoma-kun. It was just… It's just… I'm having trouble accepting the truth."

"Sakuno-chan…" Kirihara murmured. He was about to cup her cheeks with his palm when Ryoma stopped him by saying a few other words.

"Nee-chan, you said you love nii-chan, right?" Ryoma said, his cap covering his facial features. He even had his back turned to all of them as shadows of the night sky covered him. He had stood up in the middle of the street just a few steps away from the Ryuuzaki residence's gate.

"Ryo-chan…"

"Then, why did you suddenly turn to that guy there?" Ryoma said, his voice was low but it was filled with hatred and betrayal.

"Ryo-chan, I—"

"LOOK KID!" Kirihara yelled. His fist in front of his own chest by a few inches, "Stop saying stupid things like that! You don't even understand the situation! Stop meddling with other people's business. You hear me?"

Ryoma showed no intentions of moving, nor taking back what he said.

Kirihara groaned and stomped towards the kid. Sakuno tried to calm him down, but it was too late. Kirihara scooped the tennis prince up through his collar. It was not much of an effort to do so, since Ryoma didn't weigh much, considering that he turned back to a child.

Oishi and the others gasped at what Kirihara was doing.

Kirihara became even more annoyed when Ryoma didn't bulge nor protested. The kid was not moving at all!

At this time, Fuji decided to interrupt. "Kirihara," he placed a hand on the devil's shoulder. "Stop picking on him. He's only a kid."

Kirihara clenched his free fist and let Ryoma down not too harsh, but not too gently either. Fuji smiled and turned to Sakuno. "Saa, we'll head our way now."

"Unless… Ryo-chan wants to stay." Fuji added as he looked at Ryoma.

Ryoma replied with a cold, "No need. Just let the two have some privacy and let the girl cheat on nii-chan."

Everyone forced a smile at Ryoma's blunt and cold and jerky answer. They smiled at Sakuno's direction and went out of the gates, leaving Kirihara and Sakuno alone as they gradually disappeared from their street.

"Ryo-chan… was mad." Sakuno said, feeling a bit guilty.

"It's because he wanted you to end up with his cousin," Kirihara said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Sakuno turned her head to the ground. She closed the gates and gestured Kirihara to get inside the house. She closed the door after her and Kirihara stood patiently in front of her. "So, are you done crying yet?"

Sakuno forced a smile and nodded weakly.

The person who rang the doorbell during her talk with Ryoma in the phone was Kirihara. The truth is, he just passed by and decided to say hello. But as Sakuno opened the door for him, he got surprised when she quickly buried her face on his chest just as he was about to wave a hand. He held her arm to keep her from falling on the floor. And Sakuno just kept on crying her heart out. After a few minutes, Kirihara decided to let her continue her crying in the living room. He leaded her there and the two sat down with the same position that Ryoma saw when the latter arrived.

Sakuno told everything to Kirihara. The phone call that she received from Ryoma and their conversation. And even though Kirihara felt a bit guilty to what he thought, he just simply saw light with the situation. If Ryoma likes someone else, then Sakuno will be his, wholly.

And so he decided to be the clichéd 'shoulder to cry on'.

He'll just let her pour every feeling she had for Ryoma out and then when the time comes, when she'll feel all alone and helpless, he'll arrive. Her new savior. And replace Echizen Ryoma in her heart. Completely.

"Good," Kirihara said and sat on the floor. They were still at the entrance door of the house. "Then, let me tell you about something."

Sakuno looked at him and decided to sit next to him, thinking that what he was about to say was going to be long. "Another lecture?" she forced another smile.

"Sorta," he admitted.

"Sakuno-chan, tell me… why'd you allow me to court you in the first place?"

Sakuno hugged her folded legs and rested her chin on her knees. "Because I don't want to expect anything from Ryoma-kun anymore. I want to at least _try _to let myself be loved by someone."

"So then, why did you cry when he indirectly told you that he likes someone else?" Kirihara stretched his legs and rested his weight on his arms, which were a few inches behind him.

Sakuno's tears began to fill her eyes again. "I-It just hurts being told by someone you like t-that he likes s-someone else."

"And doesn't that include me?" Kirihara looked at her.

Sakuno turned her head to look at Kirihara. She didn't feel like answering. They both knew what the answer is.

"The only difference between us is that there is still someone who loves you. The girl Echizen likes probably likes him back, too. That leaves you no room for him anymore. Sorry for the frankness… but… I don't think you'll ever get a chance with him. That's why you shouldn't force yourself on him."

"I'm not. That's why I allowed you to court me." Sakuno said. She was deeply hurt by what Kirihara said but what he said were all just facts, and she'll willingly accept his opinions.

"That's the point. Even though the person you like likes someone else, there is still another person who loves you—and that's me."

Sakuno turned her head to look at the ground again. "And…" Sakuno continues, finally getting the hang of what Kirihara wanted to say, "unlike me, there is nobody else who loves you."

Kirihara nodded. "That's why you should just be my girlfriend so both parties will have a happy ending, don't you think?"

Sakuno smiled a little, despite the miserable feelings she had inside. "Thanks for cheering me up. And about the going steady thingy… I think you'll just have to wait some more. I don't think I'm ready yet."

Kirihara smiled, too. He at least cheered her up a bit—that's a good thing. Plus, he understands if she still needs time. Until then, he'll just have to prove what kind of man he is to her.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Momo turned his head to Kikumaru-senpai worriedly. Then Eiji and Momo turned their heads to the others. The others just stared worryingly back at them, too. Except Kaidoh who just kept on glaring at the sidewalk. They were walking back to Inui's home, where they left Tezuka alone inside Inui's room.

Come to think of it…

"Hey! Shouldn't the person we left at the house was Inui-senpai instead of Tezuka-buchou? It _is _his house after all!" Momo laughed a bit. He tried to ease the mood and everyone just forced a laugh. They turned their eyes at Ryoma who was still quiet all throughout their walk. They sighed in unison when Ryoma showed no interest.

"R-Right, nya! Tezuka might be doing something to the guinea pig right about now, nya!" Eiji joked. Kaidoh's facial expression suddenly turned into worry. His buchou is not that strict to animals, is he?

Ryoma kept on walking. He was a few steps ahead of them. His cap still covering his facial features.

His senpai-tachi sweat dropped nervously.

"Look Echizen," Fuji said, turning quite impatient to his kouhai's bratty-ness, "Your senpai-tachi are trying hard to cheer you up. Why don't you appreciate what they're doing once in a while?"

"Thank you," Ryoma replied in a sort of _unappreciated _way.

A vein popped on Momo's head. "LISTEN ECHIZEN!" Ryoma stopped from walking but he still did not turn around to face them. "I know you're heartbroken and all, but there are still other girls out there! If Sakuno-chan—"

"Shut up. You don't know the _real _situation," Ryoma replied with his usual cold voice.

And something snapped inside Oishi. He walked towards the tennis prince angrily and grabbed the latter's arm forcedly, who didn't even react in return. "We may not know the real situation you're talking about, but that doesn't mean you could take out your anger at us!"

Eiji and Inui tried to calm their fuku-buchou down.

Ryoma made no intentions of answering back.

Oishi sighed and rubbed his temples. Then, they started walking away, leaving Ryoma standing still on his spot. Ryoma didn't even follow them. He just stood there, not doing anything.

It's all Kirihara's fault.

He was the one who started flirting with her. And the girl was gullible enough to accept the devil, even though she's still in love with him. And then, just because she misunderstood what he intended to be a confession, she came running to that guy's arms, _crying her heart out. _Che.

But all in all…

It was his entire fault.

He was the one who didn't make things clearer between them. He was the one who kept on denying the feelings he had for her. He was the one who let her go, even though she still wasn't his. He was the one who let all of this happen.

And because he can't take the fact that he's blaming himself (he's an egoistic person, remember) for all that is bad in the world (yes, he even started blaming himself for global warming) he decided to put the blame back to the person who caused him to realize his feelings for her: Inui-senpai.

Technically, it was Fuji-senpai and buchou, but one would not know what they would do if he started yelling at them and blaming everything to them.

So, he decided to blame global warming, animal extinction, volcano eruption, tsunami, earthquakes, typhoons… and the worse turn of his life to the person who turned him back into a child—causing him to stay over at Sakuno's—to Inui Sadaharu.

It was Inui-senpai's fault.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"Hn?" Tezuka looked up from his book and turned his head to see his fellow teammates, except one who was the reason the rest of them went out. "Where's Echizen?"

Oishi sighed. "He just needed some time to be alone."

"He's strong. If ever something bad happens to him, I'm sure that brat can save himself." Momo said as he plopped down next to the bed.

Kaidoh stole a glance at Inui's guinea pig. The animal seemed safe and unharmed. Sigh.

"Oishi lost his patience, nya! That's rare. O'chibi's really in a bad mood." Eiji said, his arms folded behind his head.

"It was kind of disappointing really. I thought Echizen matured even more than that," Fuji said as he shook his head disappointingly.

"There's a sixty percent chance that he's still mulling over what happened right now." Inui said as he took his green notebook from one of his cabinets and began writing something on it.

Tezuka looked at them indifferently.

They all stared at Tezuka indifferently.

Tezuka kept his stoic face.

Everyone else had an expression as if they wanted him to do something.

Tezuka kept staring.

Everyone was expecting.

Tezuka's glasses beamed.

Everyone was leaning forward, expectant of an answer in the form of an agreement.

Tezuka sighed. "Fine. I'll talk to him," he said stoically.

Tezuka stood up from his chair and purposely brought the book he was reading with him. He was right in front of the door when he turned back and glared at his teammates, "Additional 20 laps around the field tomorrow." And with that, he left the room and headed straight outside Inui's home.

Everyone was left sweat dropping.

Eiji ran to the balcony to see Tezuka off and yelled, enough for the whole neighborhood to hear, "Tezuka! We left O'chibi at the shopping district near here!"

Tezuka simply waved his hand which was holding his book, showing that he understood and know where he was going.

Tezuka kept on walking. And walking, and walking and walking. He was just a good five minutes away from where Kikumaru told him to go. And because of the decreasing distance between him and his chosen pillar of support, his mind wandered off to what Chitose Miyuki said to him once. She was Chitose Senri's little sister, who was one of the regulars of Shitenhouji high. He met her during his stay at Kyushu during his rehabilitation three years ago. They met again every once in a while after that. She was now thirteen and a second year student at middle school. He remembered she told him once during one national tournament,

"_Dorobo-nii-chan, since you're the great captain of Seigaku, that means that you handle your teammates responsibly right? That's why you should never EVER forget your obligations as the standing father of the team! Just like nii-chan's captain, Shiraishi!" Miyuki said, with her head held high._

"_I don't think you should bother yourself on telling me that. I know my position," Tezuka said in a gentle manner. He was rarely gentle to anyone, but with Miyuki, he seemed to take her as an important (and fragile) friend. _

"_Then, that means you'll help your teammates, right?"_

"_In anyway I can. I'll make sure their tennis will always develop."_

"_That's good," Miyuki nodded. "But life is not always about tennis. Help them with their private life too."_

"_I don't think that's my business whatsoever."_

"_Okay," Miyuki sighed, "At least help them as a _friend _not as a _captain."

_Tezuka stared at her. Miyuki grinned toothily._

His mental flashbacks disappeared when he caught sight of Echizen sitting on the cemented sidewalk in front of a jewel store. The jewel store, no, all of the stores in the district were all closed already, since it was already too late. He sat down next to Ryoma. Either the latter knew he was there or not, he just simply ignored him. Tezuka looked straight ahead. After a few seconds or so, a few cars pass quickly and as quickly as it came, it go. And just like that car-routine, Tezuka and Ryoma kept on ignoring each other. Each silently thinking of their own thoughts.

After thirty minutes…

_Silence_

After one hour…

_Silence_

It was now 1:00 am.

_Silence_

"Echizen," AT LAST SOMEONE SPOKE!

"Hn," Ryoma's reply.

"I thought you were asleep."

"Me too."

"Hn."

"Hn."

"Aren't you going back, buchou?" Tezuka can't see Ryoma's facial expression. He had his cap covering his eyes.

"Not until you settle this."

"This is none of your business."

Tezuka looked straight ahead again. He was Ryoma's _standing Father _… sort of. It was his obligation to help him in anyway he can. Private life or not. That was what Miyuki told him. "Echizen, if this is my business or not, it doesn't matter."

"You're just trying to help me out, like Momo-senpai and the others. I don't need you. I don't need any of you. Let me settle this on my own." Ryoma said monotonously.

Tezuka's glasses beamed. "You've matured, quite the opposite of what Fuji said."

"Are you really here to help? Guess what, you're not helping. Just go."

"No."

"Fine."

Another one hour of silence…

It was now 2:00 am.

Ryoma smirked. "Thanks buchou. Glad we had this talk."

He said.

That two and a half hour of silence was their talk! They talked already? When? I didn't hear/read it!—was what rang through the heads of the readers.

Tezuka nodded and gestured to stand up.

That silence that Tezuka gave him was enough to ponder him on his thoughts. He hated to admit it, but before Tezuka came, his mind was confused. He felt guilty about not telling Sakuno his feelings straight ahead, but he still ends up blaming everything to someone else. He felt negatively about everything… that Sakuno was just lying to him when he told her she loves him. That she was toying with him.

But in the end, having someone beside him who was _indirectly _pushing him up, made him think that he still had some good friends out there. Especially his annoying yet compassionate senpai-tachi. They were always there to help him out. And that made his thoughts wander again to Sakuno. And in a snap, everything went clear to him—even though he never knew it already was.

Everything was just a misunderstanding. She misunderstood, and he misunderstood. They both misunderstood each other. And the only one who understands about the misunderstandings they have is him. That gives him the role of clearing those misunderstandings. (A/N: get it?)

But she just has to wait until he gets back to normal. She won't believe him if he told her as Ryo-chan.

Ryoma imitated Tezuka's actions and they both head their way back to Inui's house.

When they got back, they found everyone already asleep in their preposterous positions. Tezuka rubbed his temples and Ryoma just sighed.

Whatever.

Even though they act like idiots, they're still their friends…

And always will be…

Now, the next thing he needed to do was to return back to normal. And after that, he'll talk to Sakuno and finally confess to her.

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Okay, I made a little TezuMiyu here. I think they're canon XD. And Kirihara! How dare you take advantage of the situation Sakuno was in! I hope everyone got my idea for this chapter. Ryoma and Sakuno cleared their foggy thoughts with each other through someone else, how ironic.

TYVM for your lovely reviews :]

DICLAIMER APPLIES.

Please leave a review :3

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

"_Saa, don't you think it'd be more fun if we go to the hot springs?" Fuji said, sharing his opinion to everyone._

"_How come?"_

"_We could plan a 'test of courage' there, since hot spring resorts are usually near forests and mountains. And it'd be great if we go to Shizuoka where we can see Mt. Fuji clearly. It's a great romantic spot. We could also relax there by dipping ourselves at hot springs." Fuji reasoned._

"_But," Eiji whined, "It's hot here already! Why would we go to some place hotter than this! Besides… hot springs are for winter…"_

"_So it's decided then," Fuji said, mostly to himself. "To Shizuoka Hot Springs we go!" Fuji smiled._


	6. Chapter 6

:||**ReCaP**||:

_Now, the next thing he needed to do was to return back to normal. And after that, he'll talk to Sakuno and finally confess to her. _

:||**ChApTeRsIx**||:

The fuku-buchou of the tennis team opened his eyes slowly as the bright sunlight hit his eyes. He was lying on the floor, just beside Inui's computer table. He felt some kind of weight on his stomach and he lazily opened his eyes to see Momo's leg on him. He sighed. He sat up, making Momo's leg fall down as the owner kept on sleeping with his mouth wide open. Oishi noticed that there was a small fist near Momo's cheek. He saw that Ryoma's the owner of the little fist. The freshman must've gotten irritated at how restless sleeper Momo was and punched him unknowingly. His other hand was on his own stomach, as if he scratched it.

Next to little Ryoma was a curled up Fuji. He looks like a prince as he slept—elegant. On Fuji's feet, lies the head of a glaring Kaidoh. He was glaring even if he was asleep! Next to Kaidoh is Kikumaru, who was lying on his stomach as he slept like a little child. Inui was sleeping on his bed, his glasses removed, but his pillow was covering his unexposed eyes. And beside the bed, Tezuka was sleeping. His eyeglass was also removed and he had his back resting on the bed's edge.

Oishi sighed again.

"Everyone, time to wake up!" Oishi said in a mother-like tone. He was known as the mother hen of the team after all.

Some opened their eyes, while the others simply stirred. Tezuka grabbed his glasses and put them on. He stood up and was already on his way to the bathroom. Inui shifted from his position and took his foggy glasses and wore them. He sat on the bed and stared at everyone. Kaidoh opened his (glaring) eyes and yawned. He sat up lazily and looked at his teammates. Fuji did the same with Kaidoh albeit more princely-like. Eiji, Momo and Ryoma kept on sleeping.

"Momo, Eiji, Echizen! Wake up already!" Oishi scolded.

"Mmmghmngh…" they answered.

"ECHIZEN, MOMO, EIJI!"

"Five more minutes," they muttered sleepily.

Then, Inui took out a mug filled with his juice from UNDER HIS BED! "The last one who wakes up will have to drink my special Inui juice deluxe version 39.1. This'll serve as the perfect _healthy _breakfast for anyone." Before Inui could finish his sentence, the three simultaneously sat up.

After everyone was done with their morning routines (note: Ryoma took a bath _alone _this time), they went down to Inui's dining room to see his mother neatly placing their breakfast on the table. Inui-senpai's mother smiled sweetly at them and gestured for them to eat breakfast. They complied and hungrily ate Inui-senpai's mom's cooking.

After breakfast, and thanking Inui-senpai's parents for the meal and apologizing for the trouble, they all headed out, ready to go home. Oishi offered taking Echizen to Ryuzaki's home. Echizen nodded and they all head separate ways.

"So Echizen." Oishi started.

"Hn?"

"Finally cleared out your thoughts?"

"Sorta."

Oishi smiled. "That's good. I knew Tezuka could talk you into it. What did you two talk about?"

"Not much."

Oishi knew that the two quietest persons in their team were Tezuka and Ryoma (Kaidoh, too if he's not in a fight with Momo) and he expected that the two would not talk much. But he also knew that Tezuka understood Ryoma and vice versa in a brotherly-like way. The two had an unbreakable (and unnoticeable) friendship that they developed because of tennis. In fact, everyone on the team was like that. Some are closer than the others but there is still that relationship they have that tennis created.

"I figured that," Oishi laughed weakly. After a few more walks, they arrived in front of Sakuno's house. "Here we are," Oishi smiled at Echizen and watched him open the gates and entered the house. He left once he was sure that Echizen was safe inside, already heading his way home. It was Thursday, but because of their sleepover last night, Tezuka decided to cancel practice.

"Tadaima," Ryoma called out lazily as he removed his shoes and neatly placed them on the shoe rack.

Sakuno poked her head from one of the room and smiled sweetly, "Okaeri, Ryo-chan."

Ryoma's mixed emotions toward her suddenly disappeared when he saw her smile. Sakuno cheerfully went out of the dining room and bended herself to his level. "How's your sleepover?"

It wasn't really much of a sleepover. He mostly spent his night on the streets.

"Fine."

Sakuno's smile faded and she told him, "Sorry about last night, Ryo-chan. I know how much you want Ryoma-kun and I to—"

"I'm the one who should be apologizing. I was being selfish nee-chan." Ryoma said. And as he remembered the occurrences last night, he remembered Kirihara. "By the way… did Kirihara stay?"

"No," she shook her head. "He left a few minutes after you guys left." After the two talked about their feelings, to be exact.

Ryoma felt relieved. The whole night, he had been worrying if Kirihara stayed at her place. Something might happen between them if that happens.

"Anyway, Ryo-chan, have you already eaten?" Sakuno asked.

"Yeah… but there's still room for more."

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

The same day that afternoon, Ryoma's senpai-tachi once again decided to meet up at Kawamura's to discuss about their Kouhai's love life. This time though, just like all the other times, Tezuka and Kaidoh were absent. Tezuka was more probably doing some study, or his summer homework at the library, while Kaidoh was most likely self-training again.

Eiji slumped tiredly at the counter of the shop. He whined how hot the day was and how his O'chibi's relationship with Sakuno was not progressing. Kawamura handed him an ice cold drink in an attempt to light up the childish acrobat's mood, which was greatly effective.

"So anyway," Momo said as he yawned. He kept on looking at his phone for e-mails or text messages. "Echizen finally cleared his thoughts out… we don't know about Sakuno-chan… so… what happens next?"

Eiji narrowed his brows in a chibified form at Inui. "Inui should finish the stupid antidote so that O'chibi could confess now, nya!"

"Yeah, what are you doing here with us, anyway?" Momo asked. He noticed that Inui was writing something on his notebook as always.

Inui answered, "I am simply just taking a break from creating the antidote. But I'm still doing some research and further experiments since the last one seemed to give some temporary positive effect. Not only positive, but effective as well." He continued writing something on his notebook.

"Saa, Inui's right," Fuji said. "There were some primary progressions with the antidote, considering that it really turned Echizen back to normal, although temporary."

"You're right. It was kind of effective." Oishi said as he thought deeply of the situation.

"Anyway, what are you writing there, Inui?" Eiji asked as he leaned closer to Inui in an attempt to peek what was in the notebook. And Inui just closed it as soon as Eiji saw the word 'beetles' in the page.

"The data's confidential. But I was only writing some more _things _to add in the antidote's ingredient."

Eiji remembered one word he saw: Beetles. Eiji shivered. He should just let that thought to himself.

"So anyway," they turned to Taka who spoke at that moment. "What do you guys plan on doing while the antidote's still not done?" He asked timidly.

"I told you guys already—we should formulate a plan that would get those two together." Momo said, his vision still locked on his cell phone.

"The question here, Momo, is how." Oishi said.

"What do people usually do during summer vacation?" Fuji asked with a sadistic smile.

They all thought for a moment. Inui was the one who spoke first, "According to my data, 89 percent of the teen's population goes to the beach every summer. 56 of which were males. 76 percent, they go to their relative's house during summer break. 34, they plan an activity with their class for a 'test of courage' at deep forests. And 45 that they go to hot springs with their peers."

"Test of courage? That sound great, nya!" Eiji proclaimed loudly.

"YEAH! Let's do that one!" Oishi said as he beamed happily.

"Saa, don't you think it'd be more fun if we go to the hot springs?" Fuji said, sharing his opinion to everyone.

"How come?"

"We could plan a 'test of courage' there, since hot spring resorts are usually near forests and mountains. And it'd be great if we go to Shizuoka where we can see Mt. Fuji clearly. It's a great romantic spot. We could also relax there by dipping ourselves at hot springs." Fuji reasoned.

"But," Eiji whined, "It's hot here already! Why would we go to some place hotter than this! Besides… hot springs are for winter…"

"So it's decided then," Fuji said, mostly to himself. "To Shizuoka Hot Springs we go!" Fuji smiled.

Fuji ignored them…

They decided to let him do what he wants.

It's for the better.

Why?

He might kill them if they complained any further.

And that was no exaggeration.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Sakuno was doing the laundry when Ryoma approached her. "Nee-chan, phone's ringing."

Sakuno dropped the laundry on the basket and immediately dashed towards their phone after giving a curt 'thank you' to Ryoma. It might be her grandmother calling to see if she was fine. "Hello? Ryuzaki residence."

"_Hey, Saku-chan!"_

Sakuno smiled. "Hey, Kikumaru-senpai. May I help you with something?" she asked with her sweetest voice.

Eiji scratched the back of his head. He turned to his teammates who were watching him patiently. "_Saku-chan, do you have any plans for this summer?"_

"No. I've no plans yet."

Eiji beamed childishly. He signaled a 'thumbs up' to his fellow teammates behind him. "_Well, you see… The team decided to have an outing this coming Saturday. We managed to persuade Tezuka to do the outing at Shizuoka. We planned on going at a hot spring resort there, nya. Sounds exciting, isn't it? Wanna come with Ryo-chan?"_

Sakuno stared at nowhere in particular. She thought deeply of what Eiji said. The whole team is going to a hot spring resort in Shizuoka. As much as that sounded fun… she just can't leave Ryo-chan alone at the house. And she still needs Ryoma's permission since the kid is his cousin. "Gomen, Kikumaru-senpai. I don't think I could come. I can't leave Ryo-chan alone he—"

"_Don't worry, nya! We've already talked to his cousin about it! O'chibi allowed Ryo-chan to come!"_

"Oh," Sakuno took one step back. She smiled. "Okay then. I don't mind coming."

"_Great!" _Eiji grinned toothily and then he suddenly remembered something.

"_May I speak to O'chi—I mean Ryo-chan?"_

"Sure." Sakuno turned around and saw Ryoma staring at her indifferently. Sakuno smiled at him and gave him the phone. Ryoma took it and looked at Sakuno with questioning eyes. "It's Kikumaru-senpai. He wanted to talk to you," she said before she went back to her laundries. She also made a mental note to herself to tell Ryo-chan about the outing at dinner.

Ryoma stared at the room where she disappeared to and turned his head down to see the phone on his hand. He greeted a lazy, "Uissu," to his senpai.

"_Echizen," _a voice not clearly Eiji's greeted back.

Ryoma recognized that voice. "Fuji-senpai." He didn't bother asking why he was on the phone even though Sakuno told him that it was Eiji who wanted to talk to him. They were probably together in a place along with the other senpais.

"_Echizen, do you like hot springs?"_

"No."

Fuji chuckled. "_I figured that."_

"Is that all? I'm hanging up."

"_Then tell me," _Fuji continued, ignoring Ryoma's intention of hanging up the phone. "_Do you like seeing girls _naked _in hot springs?"_

Ryoma heard his other senpai-tachi gasped at what Fuji said. "… No."

"_I figured that, too. Now, here's the real question," _Fuji's eyes glinted with evilness, "_Do you like seeing Sakuno-chan _naked _in hot springs?" _Besides in the bath tub, Fuji thought.

"…"

"_I figured that. And you know what?"_

Ryoma decided not to answer.

"_Sakuno-chan just agreed on going to Shizuoka with us to stay at a hot spring resort."_

"Eh?"

"_Not only that… the resort that I'm planning on going to is a _mixed _hot spring resort."_

Ryoma's eyes' widened.

"_Sou. We're going to a mixed hot spring resort with Osakada and Sakuno-chan."_

The other senpai-tachi stared at Fuji frighteningly.

Earlier, Inui called Tezuka to inform him about Fuji's plan on organizing a recreational activity for the regulars since it is summer break. Tezuka disallowed it immediately as soon as Inui said what kind of activity it was. But after Fuji took over the conversation, Tezuka _magically _allowed them. But he also mentioned something about 'not getting involved'. And that he'd only be staying at the sidelines. And after that, Tezuka promised to announce the recreational activity to the whole team the next day, to make it official.

"_That means that men and women get to go to one hot spring _together."

And something inside Ryoma snapped, "No. Ryuzaki is not going with you guys. Neither would I. I'm not officially part of the team yet since I am only six years old. And Ryuzaki needs to take care of me as my big sister. Get it? Now, I'm hanging up for good."

And Ryoma turned the phone off.

Fuji stared at his phone. He expected Ryoma to decline the offer. But instead of getting worried, he just grinned sadistically, which earned shivers from his fellow mates. "Saa… we'll just see about that Echizen. We'll just see…"__

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

That night, after Ryoma and Sakuno's bath _together, _Ryoma sat on their bed while Sakuno went downstairs to wash the dishes. Ryoma stared at the blankets and thought of what Fuji said earlier. Of course he'll never allow Sakuno to go to the hot springs with them _especially _hot springs that allowed men and women to take a bath together. Her body is for his eyes _only_. And he just gotten used to seeing it a few days ago.

He'll never EVER allow anyone to see her nude EVER!

After a few minutes, Sakuno went to their room to join Ryoma on the bed. She jumped childishly at Ryoma and boom! Her fetish for little boys switched on again.

She hugged Ryoma tightly and rubbed her cheeks on his. Ryoma was getting used to that act right now. She'd been doing it since he arrived! And Ryoma made a mental note to himself to double his guard up with their future son. Yes, Ryoma was thinking about that already. And in a split moment, Ryoma found himself between Sakuno's breasts again. It's not _that _big. It was normal size for a normal girl in her normal age. And yes, Ryoma was also thinking about that already. He wondered when she developed those curves; probably during the years he was gone. Either way, she's still the same old shy timid Sakuno he always knew. And loved.

Then, Sakuno stopped pinching Ryoma's cheeks when she remembered something. "Oh yeah, Ryo-chan! Pack your things up tomorrow. We're going to Shizuoka on Saturday." She said as she continued smiling childishly at him.

"Nee-chan! I don't want to!" he pretended to whine like a child. "I want to stay here!" Then, he remembered that Inui told him that the antidote would be finished by Friday… but then again… the antidote was ruined and turned out to be only temporary.

Sakuno waved her index finger at him. "Ryo-chan, senpai-tachi already got Ryoma-kun's permission for you to come. And it'll be fun, I promise!" She smiled innocently at him.

Ryoma inwardly cursed his senpai-tachi. "I don't want to go." He insisted. He will never EVER let her go. "Just stay here with me."

"Why don't you want to go?"

"Because!" Ryoma narrowed his eyes on her. "I hate hot springs! And I hate seeing Mt. Fuji!"

"Please…" Oh no. She used the _puppy dog eyes. _

But no! He'll win this argument no matter what happens. He huffed and looked away. "No!"

"I'll give you candy if we go…" She resulted to bribing.

"No."

"Oh come on! It'll be fun Ryo-chan!"

"It's hot here already! Why dip ourselves into something warmer!"

Sakuno sighed. She stood up and walked away. Ryoma smirked. He won.

Or so he thought…

"If that's the case then, Ryo-chan… You just have to cook your own meal, take a bath alone, and sleep on the couch." Sakuno said in the coldest tone she could muster. She was never a fan of being mean to anyone, but Ryo-chan was being bratty. And besides, he already received blessings from his _Ryoma-nii-chan._

Ryoma gulped. No meal? He could still take it. He'll just buy fast food out there or persuade his senpai-tachi on buying him his foods. But taking a bath and sleeping _alone! _After what she did to make him get used to those! This girl… Ryoma groaned. "Fine!" he huffed. "I'll sleep and eat and take a bath alone from now on!" He still won't let her go even if it kills him.

Sakuno turned around and smiled at him. "Good. We'll be going at Shizuoka on Saturday! Go to Seigaku tomorrow to ask the senpai-tachi the time of our departures."

She totally ignored him!

"No." he said in a bratty tone.

"Dewa," She turned the lights off and lied next to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist while maintaining a close distance between their face. Sakuno kissed his forehead, "Good night Ryo-chan." Ryoma blushed a bit.

"I'm not going to Seigaku tomorrow and we're not going to Shizuoka." Ryoma replied. Because of their close proximity, Ryoma could feel her warm breath on his face. "Nee-chan, are you listening?" he asked irritatingly as he blushed.

"No." It was Sakuno's time to say that word.

A vein popped on Ryoma's head. "I said we're not going!"

"We are."

"We're not!"

"I'm the older one, that's why you're going to follow what I want."

"Idiot! I'm three weeks older than yo—" Ryoma quickly shut his mouth up. He got too carried away there.

Sakuno flicked his forehead. "No, no Ryo-chan. Good kids do not say bad words."

Is the word 'idiot' even a bad word?

"Well then, I'm a bad kid and we're not going."

"…"

"You hear? We're not going!"

"…"

"Nee-chan?"

"…"

She was already asleep -.-

His vein twitched.

Whatever.

They're still not going to Shizuoka.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"We're going to Shizuoka!" Eiji yelled as he jumped around in front of Taka-san's restaurant. It was now Saturday night.

In the end, Ryoma got persuaded by Sakuno to go to the stupid hot spring. How? She dressed him up as a little girl as they went to Seigaku yesterday. Strangers did not notice that he was really a boy, but as soon as they arrived at Seigaku, everyone just laughed hysterically at him. Even Tezuka smiled. HE SMILED! He never smiles! And his senpais won't stop pestering and teasing him about it. And unfortunately, Fuji brought his camera that day. Fuji did not even intend to bring it. He just brought it that day to show Inui some pictures that he took during their official matches for Inui's data purposes. And what was intended to help the team turned out to be Echizen's downfall. Fuji took at least 20 pictures, Ryoma was sure of that. Groan.

Ryuzaki could be a little annoying at times.

And she just smiled at him! That seemingly-genuine smile that hid a sadistic side inside of her. Can't she see that he's only trying to protect her? It was a damn mixed bath!

After everyone finally got over 'cross-dresser Ryoma', they went back to practice and held a meeting about the plans for the next day.

And there they are… in front of Kawamura Sushi Shop, waiting for Fuji Yumiko, who was asked by Fuji to drive them all the way to Shizuoka. They needed a car? Sheesh! Kin-chan managed to run to Tokyo from Shizuoka. Wimps.

Anyway, Tomoka and the ichinen trio were invited, too. Oishi said it was for their constant support of the team, and to congratulate the trio on becoming regulars during their senior years in middle school. Besides, Kachiro and Katsuo were about to go on a vacation with their families a few days from now (which is the cause why Ryoma has to stay at Ryuuzaki's house instead of theirs'). What better way to spend some of their free time? Spend it with their senpai-tachi of course!

After a few more minutes, the Fujis arrived. Fuji was the first one who got out of the van. He smiled at them and they all squished themselves to get inside the van. Yumiko said that it's best to go to Shizuoka at night to avoid heavy traffic. She glanced at her wristwatch and it read: 11:00 pm.

All 15 of them unexplainably fit inside the van. Ryo-chan, Sakuno, Fuji, Kaidoh and Inui were seated at the last row of the van. Sakuno decided to carry Ryoma on her lap so that there would be more space for them at the back. On the second to the last row were Momo, who was seated on the left window side, Eiji, Oishi and Tomoka, who was at the right window side. On the first row were the ichinen trio and Taka-san, who was allowed to join the trip with them even though he was not a member of the team anymore. Tezuka sat next to Yumiko, and therefore space was not a problem with him.

And after settling themselves, Yumiko-nee-san finally started her engine and she glanced at her watch again to see that it was already 12 midnight. And so, she drove their 30-minute drive to Shizuoka.

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Yay, the sixth chapter! And they're off to Shizuoka! The trip to Shizuoka is the main highlight of this fanfic. So, find out what happens next!

Your reviews are my inspiration: therefore I thank you for them :D

Disclaimer is everywhere…

Please give me you feedbacks :]

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

"_What is it, Tezuka?" Fuji said as they stood on the resort's relaxing area. The whole area was lawn and there was a large pond near them. There were a few trees scattered all over the place, too._

"_You like Ryuzaki-chan, don't you?" Tezuka said bluntly._

_Fuji opened his sapphire eyes and closed them again as he smiled. "Yes."_

"_Then why are you doing this?"_

"_Tezuka," Fuji said as he started walking away, "the question is: Why are you doing this?"_

_Tezuka answered him before he was out of sight, "Because it's my duty to help."_

_Fuji smiled and went back inside the resort. _"Then help me out by helping Echizen."_ He thought.___


	7. Chapter 7

:||**ReCaP**||:

_And after settling themselves, Yumiko-nee-san finally started her engine and she drove their 30-minute drive to Shizuoka._

:||**ChApTeRsEvEn**||:

Fuji Yumiko is Fuji Syuusuke's 27-year-old sister. She'd been very supportive of her little brothers, including their hobby of playing tennis. She makes delicious pies that could make Fuji Yuuta, the youngest of the Fuji siblings, go home from his dorm just to have some. And she wouldn't mind helping her brother with a simple thing like driving him and his friends to Shizuoka.

Yumiko glanced at the front mirror and saw that almost all of them were already asleep. It was quite a shock, for they all knew that the trip would only be for thirty minutes. It seemed like they were all tired from tennis practice that morning. All of them, except the youngest one and the captain of the team sitting next to her. She'd been quiet for quite some time now and decided to talk to the person next to her to kill time. "Kunimitsu-kun, I'm glad you're still Syuusuke's captain. Guide him to the top, okay?"

Tezuka nodded.

"You've been friends with him for five years now. It sounded like it was a long time ago, but for me it feels like it was just yesterday."

"Time tends to move fast for busy people." Tezuka replied in his most stoic voice.

"I agree." Yumiko smiled and turned the stirring wheel to the right.

"I apologize for the trouble. This outing was not even planned properly."

Yumiko shook her head. She knows it was her sadistic brother that planned all of this from the start. She couldn't blame any of them. Heck, she was more sadistic than her brother himself, so she quickly understood the situation. Besides, she's a mature woman who understands immature men… and kids. "No need to apologize, Kunimitsu-kun." Then, she leaned a bit to whisper the following words. "I know this is all for that kid with a white cap and the girl who's carrying him."

Ryoma turned his head to look at Yumiko and Tezuka who were suddenly quiet all of a sudden. It wasn't like he was listening to their conversation. He was just bored and unfortunately, awake. "Mada mada dane," he muttered in a low voice.

Tezuka sighed. He didn't even want to get himself involve with this. In fact, he just doesn't care. But remembering what Miyuki told him, he founds himself helping out in the end. "And it is my duty to support them. Tennis or not."

Yumiko smiled and continued driving. She glanced at her digital clock and it read: 12:15 am. "Aren't you sleepy yet, Kunimitsu-kun?"

"I must stay awake in case there is some trouble. If you wish to rest, then I would gladly take your position."

Yumiko glanced at Tezuka for a brief moment. "Now, now Kunimitsu-kun. Syuusuke already informed me about this outing two days ago. I've already prepared myself and slept the whole day. In fact, I feel awake more than ever. And besides… this'll only take thirty minutes." She said in a mature tone.

"I see."

And the whole trip went silent again.

Tezuka glanced at Ryoma from the front mirror and saw him looking at the window. Sakuno's arms were wrapped around his waist and he just silently sat there on her lap. Ryoma sighed. He'd die of boredom. And it was only fifteen minutes ago since they left Tokyo. Why can't he sleep? He was just not feeling sleepy at all. That was one utterly unusual thing to happen to him. He could take a nap every gap between games during their official matches back at his freshmen years in middle school. And he was the master of it, too. If you count Akutagawa Jirou out, that is.

And so, he found himself staring outside the window. Hoping he could find something interesting to see. And that was until he felt some added weight on Sakuno's right side. He turned to his right and saw Fuji leaning to Sakuno. He was using her shoulder as his pillow! Ryoma glared at the youngest Fuji inside the van.

He tried pushing Fuji away but he was too heavy for his little strength. He discovered one day after he turned back into a child that his strength greatly decreased as well. All in all, he was just a six year old. The only things fifteen year old about him are his mind and memories.

And all that thinking made Ryoma forget that Fuji was leaning to Sakuno in a _boyfriend-like _manner. Ryoma inwardly groan. He poked Fuji's cheek with his finger. "Fuji-senpai…" No reaction. He poked again. "Fuji-senpai". Still no reaction. A vein appeared on the prince's forehead. He poked—pinched the tensai's cheek rather hardly, and he finally stirred.

Fuji opened his eyes slowly and found Ryoma's hand pinching a certain part in his cheek. "What's up, Echizen?"

"Get. Off."

Fuji noticed his position. And even though he was half-awake that time, a sadistic thought entered his mind. Instead of moving away from Sakuno, he irritated the tennis prince more by wrapping his left arm around her waist as his right hand held her left hand that was holding Ryoma's right side.

A comical vein appeared on top of Ryoma's head.

"Hands. Off."

Then, Fuji intertwined his hand with hers. He grinned inwardly upon seeing the younger one's reaction. He rested his head on her shoulders.

Yumiko smiled at what Ryoma was doing. And she was _proud _at what Syuusuke was doing. On the other hand, Tezuka turned his head to look at Fuji with his normal sharp eyes. He thought about what Fuji said to him three years ago. That time when Fuji told him that he was in love with a cute girl. Tezuka narrowed his brows. It couldn't be.

Ryoma was planning on grabbing Fuji's wrist hardly when Sakuno's head dropped to Fuji's head.

And then and there, Ryoma felt betrayed.

And pissed. Off.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"Everyone, wake up. We've arrived," Yumiko said as she turned the engine off. Everyone began opening their eyes, even Ryoma who had somehow found some time to sleep. Taka-san was the first one to get out since he's on the door side. And everyone else followed after him.

Ryoma was still a bit sleepy and so he just left his body to Sakuno's hands while he continues to sleep.

"O'chibi looks like a real kid now, nya!" Eiji commented and poked Ryoma's apple cheeks.

"Eiji!" Oishi scolded.

Oops. "I-I mean Ryo-chan, nya! Not O'chibi! O'chibi's not here, remember?" he tried to cover up his mistake. Sakuno just forced a smile to him.

Then, after everyone gathered their things, they stepped forward and saw the hotel they were supposed to stay for a couple of days on top of a high hill. Although it was dark, they could see the silhouette form of the building. Momo whistled as he slung his bag over his shoulder. And around the hill were woods that covered most of the area. The only way up to that inn was to climb the stoned stairs that leads straight to it.

So they began climbing the seemingly tiring stairs.

Before Fuji could take the fifth step, his nee-san called to him. He turned around and saw her waving at him from inside the van. "Bye, Syuusuke! Remember to tell me everything, okay? I'll pick you guys on Thursday night. Take care!"

Fuji waved back. "Hai. See you later, nee-san. And thank you again."

And the eldest Fuji drove off.

Fuji smiled and followed his fellow teammates who were already ahead of him.

"Sakuno, isn't Ryo-chan heavy? Let me carry him instead!" Tomo said. She had her arms already reached up to Ryoma's level as they continued climbing the stairs. Sakuno smiled at her and said she was fine.

"Huh," Momo panted. "Why did Fuji-senpai have to choose such a tiring resort to go to?" He complained. Fuji simply smiled at him.

"Hn. Stupid porcupine head. It's because you lack exercise, that's why you tire easily," Kaidoh said.

Momo glared at him and the two began their normal, everyday fights.

After a few more steps, they finally arrived at the topmost part. They gaped in amazement as soon as they saw the old-style resort that Fuji-senpai recommended. It's an old-style Japanese hotel, much like a temple rather than a hotel. And not only that, it looked really elegant and sophisticated. It seemed as if emperors used to live in that hotel.

"Talk about tourism," Oishi said.

They all went inside and were greeted by a woman wearing a yukata. Her hair was tied up in a neat bun. She bowed at them and escorted them to the reception area. As soon as they arrived there, Fuji talked to the attendants while the others sat on the lounge. Ryoma was still sleeping like a child, which made the other hostesses immediately regard him as cute. Momo and Eiji glared jealously at Ryoma and huffed. Oishi forced a smile at them.

After a while, Fuji approached them. They stood up to hear the room assignments. "Thanks to nee-san, I was able to rent seven rooms. That means two people will have to share a room," Fuji said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "Saa, should we get going then?"

Two hostesses escorted them to their room. Their rooms were just next to each other. There are four rooms adjacent to each other while three rooms were just across the hallway. And then, they decided to choose their roommates.

"I choose Sakuno!" Tomoka said happily as she hugged her friend. Ryoma got squished between them in return. That cued him to wake up.

"Wait," Ryoma muttered sleepily, "Nee-chan's my roommate…"

Tomoka looked at Ryoma and glared at him. She pinched the kid's cheeks and stretched them in any way she wanted. "Don't be too bratty, kid! Not because you're Ryoma-sama's cousin means that you could do whatever you want! I'll have you know that I have two little brothers at home! That's why I know how to handle kids your age!" She continued stretching Ryoma's cheeks, who could only blurt out his pain.

Sakuno sweat dropped.

Fuji stopped Tomo before she could rip the prince's cheeks out. "Osakada-chan, I'm sorry to say, but Ryo-chan needs his big sister around to take care of him. I think it'd be better if you sleep with Horio instead."

Tomoka felt like thunder hit her.

"WHAT!"

Horio paled when he heard Fuji wanted him to pair up with Tomo. The two protested but Fuji just gave them a warning smile that shut both of them up.

After that, everyone entered their chosen rooms with their chosen partners.

Everyone unpacked their things one by one and saw that there were two futons in their room. Momo directly laid on the futon without changing and drifted off to sleep. It was already 1:00 am after all. His roommate, Taka-san, smiled at him and followed him after changing his clothes. Meanwhile, Kaidoh and Inui did the same after changing clothes. Oishi laid down on the futon while Tezuka remained unpacking his things. Tezuka still needed some business to take care of before resting. Kikumaru jumped childishly on the futon while Fuji lay down sophisticatedly. Kachiro and Katsuo took their time to view Mt. Fuji first before going to bed. Horio and Tomoka kept on bickering with each other until they've finally gotten tired and decided to sleep. And lastly, Sakuno lied down to sleep after changing clothes and giving Ryoma a goodnight kiss. Ryoma watched her sleep with interested eyes.

After a few minutes of watching Sakuno sleep, he heard a knock coming from the other room. Curious to see who was still awake at that moment, he silently opened his sliding door to take a peek to who it was.

He saw Tezuka standing in front of Kikumaru-senpai and Fuji-senpai's room. Tezuka and Oishi's room was just next to Eiji and Fuji's room. While Ryoma and Sakuno's room was one room away from them, with Inui and Kaidoh's room serving as the room between them. After a few seconds, Fuji answered the door while rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Fuji," Tezuka said. Fuji turned his head to look at him and he just gestured for the tensai to follow him. Fuji yawned and closed the door behind him before following Tezuka out.

Ryoma decided not to follow them for he still felt like watching Sakuno sleep some more. His sleepiness disappeared as soon as everyone got settled in their own rooms. He leaned on the window leading to the balcony and watched Sakuno with his golden orbs. The bright full moon served as his little light to see her angelic face.

"What is it, Tezuka?" Fuji said as they stand on the resort's relaxing area. The whole area was lawn and there was a large pond near them. There were a few trees scattered all over the place, too.

"You like Ryuzaki-chan, don't you?" Tezuka said bluntly.

Fuji opened his sapphire eyes and closed them again as he smiled. "Yes."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Tezuka," Fuji said as he started walking away, "the question is: Why are _you _doing this?"

Tezuka answered him before he was out of sight, "Because it's my duty to help."

Fuji smiled and went back inside the resort. "_Then help me out by helping Echizen._" He thought.

Fuji went back to the hallway to where his room was. And he stopped as he was in front of Ryoma and Sakuno's room. He looked at the door of the room for a while before deciding to peek a little. He silently slid the door open and saw Ryoma leaning on the huge glass-window/door leading to the balcony as he watched the girl sleep serenely. Ryoma was in a semi-silhouette form, and his golden orbs were the only thing that was clearly seen with him. Fuji couldn't help but smile. He closed the door of their room and went back to his own room.

"Saa, just do your best, Echizen."

Tezuka sighed. He followed Fuji when he walked away. He felt a bit pity for the tensai when he saw him peeking through Echizen and Sakuno's room. After that, he decided to finally get some good night's sleep.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

It was now early Sunday morning and the sky was at its bluest already. Everyone gathered at the dining area to eat breakfast. Some were still sleepy and yawning as they eat. After finishing their own meals, Fuji gathered the Seigaku regulars, including Taka and Ryoma to talk about their activities for the day. The ichinen trio and the two girls just decided to roam around the area first.

Fuji gathered everyone to Oishi and Tezuka's room. He smiled at them. "Unfortunately, mixed hot springs here in this resort only open during the night. At daytime, hot springs for both genders are separated."

Ryoma felt a bit relieved at that news.

Everyone else felt either disappointed or neutral.

"Anyway, what's the activity for today, Fuji?" Eiji asked excitedly.

"Ping pong." Fuji smiled.

Everyone grinned and felt excited.

"And in the afternoon, tennis." Fuji kept on smiling.

"Hmmm…" Momo placed his finger under his chin. "Table tennis in the morning to warm up for lawn tennis in the afternoon? Sounds great!"

Everyone started standing up to go to the ping pong area before Fuji stopped them. "Wait. Inui, did you bring the antidote like I asked you to?"

Everyone eyed Fuji and Inui suspiciously.

Fuji noticed their suspicious looks and explained, "Don't look at us like that. You see, I thought that Echizen might need the antidote in this trip."

"But Fuji!" Eiji said. "The last one only worked temporarily, remember?"

"True, the previous antidote that Echizen drank was only effective for only 45 minutes." Inui was the one who spoke. "It is because it was only 40 percent completed at that time. We only assumed that it was done because of the guinea pig. I managed to make an antidote that was already 60 percent complete, and the chance that it'll turn Echizen back to normal is 45 percent. That means that the time interval of his return to normal will increase tenfold. If he drinks this 60 percent complete antidote, he'll return to normal for three hours straight."

Ryoma glared at his senpai. "Why would I want to drink that disgusting thing if it'll only turn me back for three hours?"

Fuji emitted a sadistic aura, which made everyone shivered. "To confess."

Eiji and Momo grinned while Ryoma stared at him with wide eyes. "EH?"

"Sakuno-chan misunderstood the whole situation because of your retarded way of confessing," Fuji faked crying.

Eiji and Momo nodded in agreement. "It's because O'chibi can't say the words 'I love you' to her directly, nya!"

"Yes, yes," Momo nodded some more, "He's just one shy kid no matter how you look at him."

Ryoma glared fiercely at the two.

"That's why we shouldn't waste anymore time. Echizen," Fuji took Inui's antidote sample from him, "Drink it." He stretched his arm to Ryoma. "Now."

Ryoma gulped. "I-I'll drink it later…"

"It's 9:00 am already. If Echizen drinks that, he'll return to a kid by noon." Oishi said.

Fuji had a look of disappointment on his face, "Is that so? Then Echizen, when do you plan on confessing to her?"

Everyone was intrigued to what the prince will answer.

"I planned this whole trip for this event to happen, you see." Fuji added.

Ryoma avoided eye contact with all of them. Everyone just stared at him.

"Nee, nee, Sakuno! Isn't he a hottie! He totally was, wasn't he? Kyaa~ He's so cool! I wonder what his name is…" They heard Tomoka said dreamingly as she and Sakuno and the ichinen trio passed their room.

"A-Anou… I-I guess… b-but… I-I think I've already seen him from somewhere…" they heard Sakuno replied timidly. "And besides… I don't want to get to know him…"

"Oh come on! Ryoma-sama is in America right now! You could see as many guys as you want!" Tomo said.

With that, Ryoma dashed out of the room and called Sakuno. "Nee-chan!" His senpai-tachi grinned at his actions.

Sakuno and the other freshmen turned around and saw Ryoma looking at them with his brows narrowed. The other regulars went out of the room after a few seconds. "Hey." They greeted the freshmen.

"Nee-chan, where are you going?" Ryoma asked.

Tomoka grinned at Ryoma evilly. "A place where a kid like you aren't allowed to go to!"

Ryoma ignored her. "Let me come with you!" He can't believe Sakuno's best friend _wanted _her to cheat on him! Although it's not like they're dating or something… BUT STILL!

"Hey! Aren't you listening! I said kids aren't allowed to go!" Tomo yelled while Kachiro and Katsuo calmed her down.

"What place is that?" Tezuka asked sternly to Horio. Horio sweat dropped when he heard his captain talking to him.

The unibrow freshman replied with a nervous, "To the ping pong area, where the boy that Osakada thought was cute was going."

"What a coincidence," Oishi smiled at Horio. "We're also going there. Come on. Let's go together."

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Sounds of ping pong balls echoed throughout the room. There were nine tables inside. Three of the tables were used by some other tourists. On the right side of the room were three vending machines with two benches placed on either side of it.

Ryoma kept on holding Sakuno's hand like she was his mother. He looked at each and one of the faces inside the room. No matter how he looks at any of them, there was no _hottie _he could see.

"Kya~" Tomoka yelled fan-girly. "We're here!" She waved one arm up excitedly. A boy stopped playing and turned his head to look at Tomo. He smiled weakly and waved at her. He did not expect the girl to follow him. And then, his eyes widened when he saw _the _Seigaku tennis team with her.

"Acha…" the boy said unknowingly. "What are you guys doing here?"

The regulars immediately noticed the guy. "Shiraishi Kuranosuke!"

"Ah!" Sakuno said. Her face etched with remembrance. "That's right! He's Tooyama-kun's captain!"

Tomoka looked at her with accusing eyes. "You mean you know this hottie all along! How could you forget?"

Sakuno laughed weakly as her reply.

"Oh," Shiraishi said as he sat on the bench to take a drink. "You guys are on a recreational outing." He said after Oishi told them why they were in that resort.

Tezuka stood in front of him. "I am sorry for my Kouhai's indecent behavior." He bowed respectfully at the Shitenhouji captain. Tomoka sweat dropped.

Shiraishi smiled a bit and waved his hand, "No need. I was only protecting them from bullies."

The real story was that the group of freshmen were attacked by drunken men (they're drunk already even though it was early in the morning) and Shiraishi stepped in to save them. And Tomoka immediately turned her _fan girl _mode on and became Shiraishi's fan. Shiraishi tried to tell her off by saying he's going to the ping pong area to play, but he did not expect her to follow him.

"And besides, I thought that the girl with the long pigtails there looked familiar. And voila! She turned out to be one of Kin-chan's friends."

Sakuno pointed to herself. "K-Kin-chan's friend?"

Shiraishi nodded. "Kin-chan showed me a picture of you. He said he took it one year ago, when you guys were in your third year in middle school. He also said you play tennis well." Shiraishi smiled at her.

Then, Ryoma felt pissed off at both Tooyama and Shiraishi.

Sakuno felt flattered. "T-Thank you…"

"So anyway, what's the almighty 'Bible of Shitenhouji' doing in a place like here?" Momo asked.

"Momo!" Oishi scolded Momo for his rudeness. Shiraishi simply shrugged it off.

"I'm here with my sisters." Shiraishi answered as he stood up from the bench. "Although, I wish I also thought of doing a recreational outing with my team, too. It'd be great especially if you guys are there."

"Hn. So that means that you're the only Shitenhouji student here." Kaidoh hissed.

Shiraishi laughed. "That is if you don't count my little sister who is a first grader in Shitenhouji elementary."

Sakuno beamed happily. "You have a younger sister? That's great! We could introduce her to Ryo-chan!" Sakuno bowed her head to look at the boy who was still holding her hand.

Shiraishi turned his head to the little boy. He seemed familiar to him. "Come to think of it, didn't Echizen return from America already? Mizuki from St. Rudolph told everyone about his return already."

The Seigaku regulars cursed the blabbermouth Mizuki mentally.

"Unfortunately, he had to come back to America to take care of some things. He'd come back before school starts again." Tezuka replied.

Shiraishi said, "Well, I guess that's good to hear then. Kin-chan was waiting for his return."

"We figured that," Fuji chuckled as he remembered the rookie of Shitenhouji.

"Anyway, I think Kazumi would love to play with someone her own age. I think she's at our room right now." Shiraishi said, turning to Sakuno. "Do you want to come with me to fetch her?"

Sakuno smiled. "Su—"

"SURE!" Tomo yelled. She wrapped her arms around Shiraishi's arm and already took one step forward.

"OSAKADA!" she heard Tezuka scolded. "I would not tolerate indecency with you! 5 laps around the room."

Tomo turned to Tezuka with teary-eyes. "B-But I'm not a tennis club member…" she whined.

Tezuka's glasses beamed. "10 laps."

The regulars chuckled.

"HAIIIIII" Tomo yelled as she began her laps.

Shiraishi sweat dropped. Seigaku's captain was still strict as always. He turned to Sakuno, "Let's go."

Sakuno nodded and before the two headed out, Shiraishi informed them that they'll be back soon.

Ryoma glared at their disappearing figures and decided to come with them, "Nee-chan, let me come!"

Sakuno looked at Ryoma who was already running towards her. She held Ryoma's hand with her left hand. Shiraishi was on her right side and he just smiled at her sweetness. "You're a really sweet big sister."

Sakuno shook her head. "He's not my brother. He's Ryoma-kun's cousin. I was just asked by his family to take care of him until Ryoma-kun returns."

"Oh," Shiraishi said and stared at Ryoma, who glared at him in return. Shiraishi smiled weakly and turned his view ahead. "_So that's why he looked exactly like Echizen." _

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Hi! What do you think of this chapter? Btw, Shiraishi really has a younger sister and an older sister but their names and ages are unknown, so I just invented one. Oh and sorry if it wasn't FujiSaku :(

T.T Thanks again for your heartwarming reviews!

DiScLaImEr: Konomi owns this, not me.

Please review :]

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

_An unfamiliar shadow covered the two of them. The two girls looked at her and their eyes' widened with amazement. The woman was beautiful and she has a gorgeous body… It wasn't seen fully though, since there was a towel wrapped around her body. The woman smiled at the two of them. "I believe you're talking about my brother?"_

_Sakuno and Tomo looked at each other with realization. "Y-You're Shiraishi-san/sama's big sister!"_

_The woman smiled at them. "Yes." And then, a little girl appeared from behind the woman. It was Kazumi._

_At the exact moment that Shiraishi's elder sister, Kaori, talked to the two girls, Shiraishi entered the men's hot springs. He laughed weakly upon seeing the Seigaku regulars. "Why did I have the feeling that I'll see you guys here?"_

_Tezuka nodded as his greeting to him. _


	8. Chapter 8

:||**ReCaP**||:

_Sakuno shook her head. "He's not my brother. He's Ryoma-kun's cousin. I was just asked by his family to take care of him until Ryoma-kun returns."_

"_Oh," Shiraishi said and stared at Ryoma, who glared at him in return. Shiraishi smiled weakly and turned his view ahead. _"So that's why he looked exactly like Echizen."

:||**ChApTeReIgHt**||:

Ryoma kept on glaring hard. And by hard, it means. HARD.

He had this unknown feeling creeping up inside him. But he was pretty sure that it was a mixture of anger, irritation, and a somehow unexplainable need to demand _devotion _from the girl.

No matter how much he glares dangerously at the easy-going captain of Shitenhouji, the _tall _guy just couldn't see his _warnings _since he was too _small _to be noticed. Then again, the third year wasn't even doing anything to her… so why feel irritated?

"So anyway, Sakuno-chan, since you found yourself taking care of a child, how does it feel?" Shiraishi asked.

The three of them kept walking in the middle of the maze-like hallways of the hotel. Ryoma couldn't help but notice that third year's way of addressing her.

"It was pretty fun! I actually dreamed of having a little brother since I was younger. I'm happy to have Ryo-chan around!" Sakuno smiled cheerfully as she looked at Ryo-chan who was holding her left hand and back to Shiraishi again.

Shiraishi chuckled a bit. "I kind of understand your situation. My little sister is probably the same with Ryo-chan."

"I guess that's why you can handle Kin-chan well, huh? It's because you've already experienced taking care of a child at home." Sakuno said.

Shiraishi stopped briefly to say, "Yeah… that's probably why." Then he added as he caught up to her, "And add the fact that he's a manga maniac."

Both of them giggled.

Ryoma groaned.

Scratch the thought about that guy not doing anything to her. He was flirting with her! In his own _inconspicuously charming _way. Ryoma glared at both of them. Sakuno said she likes him, didn't she? Why does she keep on looking at other men! He's just right there!

Ryoma's at that 'Ryuzaki said she likes me, so why flirt with other guys?' thing again. 

He can't take it anymore. The more he looks at them, the more they turn into a 'cute couple'. Hell, they're even sparkling in his perspective. Ryoma tightened his grip on her hand as a start. Unfortunately, the girl didn't notice and kept on talking to the older guy. He seethed.

He was never the attention-maniac before but this situation called for drastic measure.

He released Sakuno's hand and squished himself between them. Shiraishi and Sakuno were too close for his comfort, that's why he needed to maintain some space between them.

"What's wrong Ryo-chan?" Shiraishi asked.

"Don't talk to me," Ryoma said monotonously.

Shiraishi was taken aback first before he chuckled.

Sakuno was about to scold Ryoma for his rudeness when Shiraishi quickly scooped the young one up.

Ryoma felt someone carrying him and he found himself distancing from the ground. His levitation stopped when he found himself being carried by Jungle Boy's captain. He immediately protested and stomped around.

Shiraishi pinched Ryoma's cheek as he continued smiling charmingly. "Don't move around so much. You might hurt yourself."

Ryoma kept glaring.

Sakuno blushed. Shiraishi looked like he was an ideal father to her eyes.

A pair of the hotel's hostesses giggled at their three guests as they passed by them. Ryoma heard one hostess whispered to her companion, "They look like a family."

As always, something in Ryoma snapped. He struggled violently against Shiraishi's hold and kicked him on his stomach. He would not stay there being carried around like a child (though he is _indirectly _one) and be thought of as Ryuzaki's child. If he would tolerate of being thought of anything about Ryuzaki, it's being her boyfriend, or husband OR soul mate. The idea of Shiraishi being her husband does not suit well with him, not even a bit. Not even 0.00000000000001 percent!

Shiraishi winced in pain but he managed to tolerate it. He kept on holding to Ryoma as he smiled weakly at the kid, with one eye open. "You're really just like your cousin, Echizen Ryoma." He commented.

So, the third year still won't let him go? He'll just have to result to his favorite game since he turned into a child: kicking the guy's _sensitive part _B-R-U-T-A-L-L-Y.

At least, that was what he planned…

"No Ryo-chan!" Sakuno scolded and took Ryo-chan from Shiraishi. "How many times do I have to tell you not to hurt other people?" She held Ryoma in front of her and glared cutely—Ryoma's perspective—at him.

Ryoma stared at her. Then, he hugged her like a child regretting what he'd done. Of course, it was only an act so that he could hug her.

Sakuno saw regret in his amber eyes and caressed his back. "That's a good boy."

Shiraishi sweat dropped.

After a few more walks, they've finally arrived at Shiraishi's shared room with his sisters. His older sister went out to roam around tourist areas in Shizuoka, while the younger one was most likely playing with her toys inside. Shiraishi slid the door open and found his room empty. Shiraishi scratched his head in confusion. "That's weird… she doesn't go out alone by herself…"

Sakuno plastered a worried look on her face. "Looks like your new playmate isn't here… Sorry, Ryo-chan."

Ryoma couldn't care less.

Shiraishi sighed. He slid the door closed and turned to Sakuno. "I'm sorry, Sakuno-chan, I thought Kazumi would be here."

Sakuno shook her head. "No, no. It's okay. I'm sure they'll meet each other sometime." She looked at Ryoma and smiled. "Nee?"

Ryoma looked away with boredom.

"So then, shall we head back to the table tennis area?" Shiraishi asked politely. Sakuno nodded and both of them left the area.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

When the two reached the table tennis area, they found everyone playing doubles with each other. Tezuka-Oishi pair vs. Fuji-Kikumaru pair, Osakada-Horio pair vs. Kachiro-Katsuo pair, and Kawamura-Momoshiro pair vs. Kaidoh-Inui pair.

"Everyone partnered up with their roommates…" Sakuno said.

Shiraishi focused his eyes on Tezuka's play. He observed every move that the Seigaku captain does, and mentally praised him for it. Then, he noticed that the girl with him was still standing next to him. An idea hit his head and said, "Sakuno-chan, do you want to play table tennis with me?"

Sakuno could only stare at Shiraishi as he proclaimed his offer. "B-But… I am pretty clumsy… you'll only get bored…" Sakuno whispered the last words but Shiraishi still heard it.

"Oh come on, Sakuno-chan! This is not a match! We'll just play for the sake of fun!" Shiraishi said happily.

"Then, I'd play with you." Ryoma interrupted. Shiraishi looked at him as Ryoma made a gesture that he wanted Sakuno to put him down and so she did. He looked at Shiraishi with challenging eyes. He smirked arrogantly. "It's for the sake of fun, Shiraishi-nii-chan." His eyes filled with the joy of getting revenge.

Shiraishi sweat dropped. "O-Okay then, Ryo-chan…"

The others noticed the commencement of Ryo-chan and Shiraishi's game on the far end corner table. They stopped their games and excitingly decided to watch the two legendary tennis players' play. "GO! O'CHIBI!" "Do it, Echizen!" "Good luck." "Don't lose!" "Fshuu." "Kya~ Shiraishi-sama, go get that brat!" "Don't lose, Ryo-chan…" "BURNING! DEFEAT THAT BOY, BABY!"

But… Ryoma was too small to reach the table…

Only his hair was sticking out from the top of the table.

"Oh, O'chibi's too small!" Kikumaru and Momo laughed.

Ryoma glared at his always-annoying senpais. He carried a bench beside the vending machine and dropped it in his court side. He climbed the bench and smirked arrogantly at Shiraishi. "I'll play with you by only moving sideways."

Shiraishi weakly laughed. He tossed the table tennis ball into the air and hit it with his racket. The ball bounced on his court first before bouncing to Ryoma's side.

The ball bounced near the net. The others gasped. Ryoma won't be able to reach the ball since he's standing on a long bench. He won't be able to move forward or backward. "Echizen!"

Sakuno took note of what her senpai-tachi kept on calling Ryo-chan. They kept on calling him O'chibi or Echizen, just like how they call Ryoma. Sakuno eyed them suspiciously.

Ryoma smirked. He suddenly began to release an unusual aura.

"There it is! Muga no Kyouchi!" the ichinen trio cheered.

"Muga no Kyouchi?" Sakuno thought for a moment. Ryo-chan could use that at his tender age?

The ball changed direction and headed straight towards Ryoma. Shiraishi's eyes widened. It's…

"Echizen Zone!" Momo and Taka cheered.

Ryoma returned the ball and it rolled horizontally on top of the net.

"That's!" Fuji opened his eyes.

"Marui Bunta's tsunawatari (tightrope walking)." Inui said.

Shiraishi gaped at what Ryoma did. He looked at Ryoma with suspicious eyes before trying to return the ball back. Shiraishi missed the ball.

"0-1" the ichinen trio scored.

Ryoma smirked. "Mada mada dane."

Sakuno narrowed her brows.

Then, Shiraishi smiled. "Nice one, Echizen _Ryoshi._" He said but his tone was implying like he already knew and understand something.

Ryoma eyed him curiously before Shiraishi began his second serve. "Here comes the ball, Ryo-chan."

Ryoma returned the ball easily with his Cool Drive. As the ball rolled down and dropped off the edge of the table, Shiraishi quickly hit it back. "This is not like tennis, you know. Your Cool Drive won't work with me."

The ball bounced on the far edge of Ryoma's court side. It dropped immediately on the ground. Ryoma eyed him irritatingly. That ball was considered counted in table tennis.

"1-1"

It was Ryoma's serve this time. He used the twist serve, but of course it also bounced on his court first before Shiraishi's. Shiraishi hit the ball back effortlessly and Ryoma hit it back with a lob.

"Don't lob the ball, Echizen! He'll only use the—" Fuji said.

Shiraishi got into position. He hit the ball with an immense sidespin with his racket, making the ball spin around…

"Entaku Shot!"

… Until it hit Ryoma's court and no longer bounced.

"2-1"

Shiraishi smiled at Ryoma as the prince looked at him irritatingly.

"Stop applying your tennis skills in table tennis, nii-chan," they all heard a little girl's voice said. "That goes the same for you, Koshimae."

"Kazumi!" Shiraishi called.

They turned their head to the owner of the voice, who was standing on the entrance of the room. The girl had the same hair and eye color with her brother. She had short hair that looked soft and had pointy tips that flow messily, but stylishly around.

Sakuno smiled. "She's Kazumi?"

Kazumi turned her head to look at the girl with twin braids. She scanned the girl from head to toe. Kazumi's eyes gleamed with excitement. "You're Kin-nii-chan's wife!"

Everyone, except Kaidoh and Tezuka dropped on the ground comically.

Shiraishi laughed weakly at what his sister said. He made her promise not to tell anyone about that, after all. Kin-chan and Kazumi were pretty close, since the two held the same childish attitude. And one time, Kin-chan, with all his fantasies and whatnots, gave Kazumi the idea that he has a wife with auburn hair tied in twin braids, whose name was Tooyama Sakuno. Shiraishi reminded himself to scold Kazumi later.

Sakuno laughed a bit but blushed upon hearing what the girl said.

Ryoma glared at the kid. He decided he did not like the kid one bit.

Kazumi excitedly ran towards Sakuno and hugged her leg. "You're going to be Tooyama Sakuno, just like what he told me!"

Ryoma went down from the bench he was standing. Ryoma faced the little girl about his height. Kazumi looked at him as he glared at her. Then, Kazumi stuck a tongue out at him. Ryoma got surprised with her actions and did not see the girl suddenly slapped him.

The hell?

His senpai-tachi snickered.

"Ah! Kazumi!" Shiraishi yelled. "Why did you slap him? Mou, bad girl!" Shiraishi grabbed his sister's wrist.

"Ryo-chan, are you alright?"

Ryoma touched the part where the girl, Kazumi, slapped him. He groaned angrily at her as she scoffed. Okay, that girl was _definitely _more annoying than Shiraishi and Tooyama combined.

Kazumi pointed an accusing finger at him with her free hand. "You're that American guy who releases toxic with his finger and stares you down with his three eyes named Koshimae, who wanted to get between Sakuno and Kin's love!"

Patience, Ryoma. She's only a kid.

Shiraishi shook his head disapprovingly. He turned his head to look at the young boy beside him, hoping he could get a reaction from him.

Ryoma was fuming with anger.

Shiraishi tried to ease the tension between the two children. "Kazumi, this boy is not Koshimae. He's Koshimae's cousin, Ryo-chan."

"No! He's definitely Koshimae!" Kazumi insisted.

Senpai-tachi gulped.

Ryoma felt a bit nervous with the girl's accusations. He could tell them the truth if Sakuno was not there… and because she's there with them, he can't.

"A-Anou," Oishi bended next to Kazumi, "I'm sorry to say, but he's not Echi—Koshimae. He's Koshimae's cousin, that's the truth."

"Then why does he play like the real Koshimae, then?" Kazumi pointed at Ryoma again, who had shadows covering his eyes.

The senpai-tachi forced a laugh. True, Echizen forgot about his supposedly hidden identity from Sakuno when he played table tennis with Shiraishi. Everyone else forgot about that, too. The ichinen trio, Tomoka and Sakuno looked at Ryoma.

"That's because," it was Fuji this time. "Ryo-chan is actually the 'Prince of Table Tennis', exactly how Echizen is the 'Prince of Tennis'."

Everyone who doesn't know Ryo-chan's real identity bought the idea. "So a genius at table tennis in the Echizen family, huh?" Kachiro said. "Maybe Ryoma-kun's family members are geniuses at different sports." Katsuo said. Tomoka nodded, "The Echizens are _great _after all."

They heaved a sigh of relief. Shiraishi's eyes hinted that he was aware of what they were thinking, which made them look at him with suspicion. Kazumi, however, kept on insisting her beliefs.

"If you don't believe me, fine!" Kazumi turned to Sakuno. "Sakuno-nee-chan, you should never trust men. Men are wolves who only wanted to feast on maidens' bodies. After that, they throw them away like garbage."

Sakuno was stunned. How would a six year old kid know something about that already? It may be possible that the child was already molested…

"Koharu-nii-chan told me that!" Kazumi added cheerfully.

Sakuno's eyes were dotted at first before her sweat dropped. "S-Sou…?"

"Of course, every man except nii-chan, Kin-nii-chan, Gin-sama, Koharu-nii-chan, and everyone at Kura-nii-chan's team are wolves! Koshimae is the most dangerous one! Nee-chan should be careful!"

The Seigaku regulars had their vein twitched on their forehead. "We're not wolves!"

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

That night, after they played tennis in the afternoon, they all prepared themselves for the hot springs, which was the primary reason that they were there in Shizuoka in the first place. The recreational outing was just an excuse.

"Fuji," Eiji called. All of them were on their way to the hot springs; each and one wearing robes that the hotel staffs gave them. "You said that every night, the hot springs are mixed, right?"

Fuji nodded.

Momo whispered something to the tensai, in order to escape from Ryoma's sharp ears. "Then does that mean that we'll take a bath with Sakuno-chan and Osakada?"

Fuji laughed. "I know how much you love taking a bath with girls," Momo and Eiji blushed and was about to deny it when Fuji added, "But unfortunately, the mixed baths only start at 11:00 pm."

Eiji took a glance on his watch. "Mou, it is only 9:00 nya!"

"You are disappointed…" Oishi weakly laughed at Eiji. Eiji blushed.

"You heard that ladies?" Taka-san asked.

Tomo and Sakuno nodded.

And the men and women of the group headed separate ways when they reached the hot springs. Ryoma casually followed Sakuno and Tomo when Momo held his collar. Shadows of doom covered Momo's background as Ryoma stared at him. "You are a _man_, aren't you? Our hot spring is over here…" Momo said threateningly.

Ryoma smirked. "Jealous, Momo-senpai?"

Shadows covered Momo's eyes.

"Don't worry, Tachibana's little sister is not there." Ryoma said.

And ANGER filled Momo's wellbeing. "ECHIZEN!"

"O-O-Ow!"

The tennis team dipped themselves relaxingly in the hot springs. Luckily for them, no strangers were around at that moment. Horio dived into the hot spring and created a huge splash in the water. Tezuka got all wet because of the splash. "Horio! 20 laps around the hot springs!"

Horio paled but followed his captain without complaints.

Fuji chuckled.

Ryoma had a huge bump on his forehead created by Momo. He rested his head down on a huge rock while his body rest on the water. His arms served as his pillow for his head. He yawned sleepily.

"It's O'chibi's bedtime already," Eiji snickered. A vein popped on Ryoma's head but he did not move from his position.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bamboo wall that served as the separator for the men and women's hot spring, a bunch of girls giggled for reasons of their own. Momo, Eiji and even Inui's ears grew rapidly, literally.

Tezuka sighed at his teammates' perverted minds.

"Sakuno!" Tomoka's voice was the loudest. This time, it was Ryoma's ear that grew big.

"Don't you think that Shiraishi-sama is perfect?" Tomo said dreamingly.

Sakuno sweat dropped. "I-I guess… He plays 'Perfect Tennis' after all…"

Then, an unfamiliar shadow covered the two of them. The two girls looked at her and their eyes' widened with amazement. The woman was beautiful and she has a gorgeous body… It wasn't seen fully though, since there was a towel wrapped around her body. The woman smiled at the two of them. "I believe you're talking about my brother?"

Sakuno and Tomo looked at each other with realization. "Y-You're Shiraishi-san/sama's big sister!"

The woman smiled at them. "Yes." And then, a little girl appeared from behind the woman. It was Kazumi.

At the exact moment that Shiraishi's elder sister, Kaori, talked to the two girls, Shiraishi entered the men's hot springs. He laughed weakly upon seeing the Seigaku regulars. "Why did I have the feeling that I'll see you guys here?"

Tezuka nodded as his greeting to him.

"Ah, ecstasy."

"Hello there," Fuji greeted the first person ever who defeated him in a singles official match.

"Yo." Shiraishi sat next to Fuji. "Kaori-nee-san and Kazumi are on the other side." Shiraishi looked at the bamboo wall that served as the divider between the two hot springs and noticed that Momo, Eiji and Inui were leaning their ears on the wall. "I see they're trying to peep."

"Sorry," Fuji laughed weakly.

"Kaori and Kazumi. Those are very beautiful names," Oishi said as he began joining their conversation. "Kaori means _fragrance _while Kazumi means _harmony and beauty._"

Shiraishi smiled at him and nodded. "Sou."

"Fshuu," Kaidoh hissed. The three looked at him.

"Woah, I wonder what they're doing?" Momo said.

"I can't see anything!" Eiji said as he kept on looking at any holes in the wall.

Inui was standing not too far from them. His glasses beamed.

Then, Momo and Eiji felt like there was someone who punched the wall from the other side. The two looked confusedly at each other. Then, a female voice said, "Men are wolves, remember that Sakuno, Tomoka, and Kazumi."

"Yeah! Men should never be trusted!" Kazumi yelled cheerfully.

"Am I right, Kuranosuke?" Kaori purposely yelled for Shiraishi to hear.

His companions all turned their head to him. Shiraishi forced a laugh, "I-I guess, nee-san."

Kaori punched the bamboo wall again. "I said, AM I RIGHT, KURANOSUKE!"

Shiraishi stood up and answered, "YES! NEE-SAN!"

Fuji smiled. Shiraishi's sister reminded him of his own sister.

"That's why YOU," Kaori pointed her finger to Sakuno, "should be careful around your senpai-tachi!" Sakuno nodded nervously.

"Hey, what do you think of us, nya! Perverts!" Eiji yelled.

Momo nodded in agreement, "Not all men are perverts!"

Kaori punched the wall again, this time, it shook. Eiji and Momo sweat dropped. "If not, then care to explain why you guys are leaning into this wall?"

All of them paled.

Tezuka decided to handle the situation. He bowed, although she won't see him. "I deeply apologize for my teammates' actions. I would make sure that they will be punished for their acts of indecency."

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Tezuka ordered everyone to climb down the stairs and up again repeatedly for 30 times after they finish with the hot springs. It didn't sound that harsh coming from Tezuka though, until the stern captain told them that the stairs they'll be climbing up and down repeatedly would be the stairs that lead as the guests' entrance and exit of the hotel. It was the long stairs that served as the only way to the hotel, which was located on top of a high hill.

Tezuka headed towards his room after he bid farewell to the Shiraishi siblings, while his teammates started climbing downstairs. The receptionists sweat dropped as they watched the teenagers climb up and down the long stairs repeatedly for a number of times. Ryoma was the only one spared, though. He'd be with his senpais, too if not for Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki told Tezuka that _Ryo-chan _was not a member of the tennis team and that he was only a child. Tezuka could only sigh and let him be. But he added a mental note to add his laps during tennis practice after the tennis prince returns to normal.

Tezuka lied down and relaxed himself. He was greatly ashamed of what Momo and Eiji did. He believed in the saying that a team must always work together and receive punishment together. So he did not felt a bit guilty if he included innocent ones on his severe punishment. He sat up again and took a book from his bag. He then began reading it as he sat on the railings of his balcony.

"Goodnight, Ryo-chan," Sakuno kissed his forehead and went to sleep.

Ryoma pretended to fall asleep with her. After he was sure that Ryuzaki was already asleep, he opened his eyes. He looked at her sleeping face and smirked. He stood up and went towards the balcony. He stared at the full moon first before he noticed that Tezuka was also on his room's balcony. There are two more balconies in between them, one was Inui and Kaidoh's and the other one was Fuji and Kikumaru's. He noticed that his buchou was reading a book.

"So you're still a bookworm," Ryoma said.

Tezuka looked up from his book first before he continued reading. "And you should be running your punishment with them."

Ryoma placed his arms behind his head. He and Tezuka had a good view on what is happening on the long flight of stairs. He saw his senpai-tachi's shadows as they paced up and down the stairs. "They still have lots more to work on," Ryoma said in English.

Oishi and Taka dropped on their knees as soon as they reached the top of the stairs. They've finally finished!

After a while, the others dropped on their knees, too as they panted heavily on the ground. "This is stupid. It's all because of you Momoshiro!" Kaidoh said angrily between pants.

Momo wanted to retort back but he was too tired.

"Now, now," Oishi stood up after one last deep exhale, "We're a team. One's fault is everyone's fault." That was what Tezuka wanted to teach them, after all.

Then, they remembered Ryoma.

Eiji cried childishly, "O'chibi is way beyond lucky now!"

"Not only does he get to sleep, take a bath and live with his loved one… but he also gets spared for his punishments…" Taka said timidly.

"Sometimes it makes me think that Echizen is taking advantage of his _curse._" Momo said angrily as he remembered the past events.

"A child like him is allowed to take a bath in the women's hot spring side if he were with a female guardian." Inui said.

And after that, everyone's anger shifted to the data man.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"Saa…" Fuji tried to calm his teammates down as the data man took one step back from his furious teammates.

They've rested for a while and after a few minutes, they decided to call it a day. Everyone was on their way to their own rooms when they stopped in front of Ryoma and Sakuno's room. They looked at each other and nodded knowingly. Fuji immediately went inside his room and went out just as fast as he entered. When he got out, he already had a DSLR camera with him. "I only brought my Canon 550D, but it'd be fine. It has video installed inside."

"Good," Eiji whispered.

Momo began sliding the door open as quietly as possible.

"Are you sure this is alright, guys? I mean, what if Tezuka finds out? He's only two rooms away! And what if Echizen finds out? He'll kill us! What if—"

Kaidoh hushed his fuku-buchou down.

Everyone peeked inside the room. Momo was on the lowest part, he had his chin hitting the floor already! Eiji dropped his head on Momo's head, and Kaidoh's head was on top of him. Fuji was standing and peeking through his camera behind Kaidoh while Oishi tried his best to keep himself from falling since was tiptoeing. Inui and Taka were trying their best to take a look inside since everyone else was blocking their sights.

They saw Ryoma on the balcony. He was opening and closing his mouth as he faced someone on his right side. "It looks like he's talking to someone…" Fuji said. He zoomed his camera to him and saw Ryoma smirked. The tennis prince smirked at the person he's talking to and made a move that he was about to go inside.

Fuji hushed them down as they began talking among themselves. "Echizen is going back inside."

Ryoma opened the window and closed it behind him. He dropped himself next to Sakuno and stared at her.

"Wooh! Echizen's staring at her like a lovesick puppy!" Momo whispered to his friends.

"Shh!" They hushed.

Then, Ryoma sat up again. He was sitting Indian-style. He propped his elbow on his knees and placed his chin on his palm.

"Ryuzaki…" Ryoma muttered.

Ryoma was on a semi-side view angle on his senpai-tachi's perspective, that's why they saw him opening his mouth as if he was telling her something.

"Fuji, what did he say?" Eiji asked.

Inui wrote down something on his notebook.

Fuji used his camera as a way to read Ryoma's lips. "I'm not much of lip-reader… but I think he said her name…"

"Fuji, did you bring your tripod?" Inui asked.

Fuji turned towards Inui and nodded. "I was hoping I could get some good shots of the sunset behind Mt. Fuji. Why?"

"Why don't you just use the camera as a way for us to watch what was happening inside? Kawamura and I can't see what's going on, you see."

The others nodded in agreement as they were all getting tired of their ridiculous positions.

Fuji took out his tripod and placed his camera on top of it. He switched the 'live view' on and everyone sat around it. They watched the little thing like there was some good movie showing live.

Ryoma didn't move from his position.

After some good thirty minutes, they got irritated at Ryoma's lack of actions.

"Why won't he move? He's not doing anything!" Momo complained.

"He's just staring at her…" Oishi said.

"Saa… that's what you do when you're in love." Fuji smiled.

"Possibility that nothing will happen after one hour: 86 percent." Inui muttered.

"One hour!" Eiji had a look of complete protest. "We can't just sit here for one hour nya!"

"Look, Echizen's moving," Taka was the only one who noticed since everyone was looking at Inui.

They shifted their attention back to the freshman prodigy, hoping that he'd finally do something.

"Men are definitely wolves," they stiffened upon hearing a familiar little girl's voice.

They saw Kazumi looking at them with distaste as they all sweat dropped. "Listen kid!" Momo was about to scold the girl when the girl simply passed by them like there were no living beings in the hallway. Everyone sweat dropped. "What's up with that girl?"

They shifted their attention back to Ryoma again. They saw that he was leaning to her face. They gasped.

Ryoma started doing this after he finally realized his feelings for her. He was grateful for her goodnight kisses, but there was no meaning behind those kisses. It just simply meant that Sakuno acknowledged _Ryo-chan _as her brother, no more no less. And after that, during night, he watches her sleeping face and waits till he feels sleepy. Sometimes though, he'd steal a kiss to her cheeks, but this time, after talking to Tezuka on that balcony, he felt like he should be _really _grateful to what she did. He stared lovingly at her lips, which were slightly apart. He leaned forward with his half-opened eyes. And then, he kissed her fully on the lips.

It was Ryoma's first. It's hard to believe, but it was truly his first time kissing a girl on her lips. It felt good… although it's only a contact between skins. He did not bother to turn the kiss into a passionate one. Ryuzaki might wake up if he did. After a few more while, he leaned back and smiled. "I stole your first kiss, Ryuzaki" he whispered to her teasingly. Sakuno stirred a bit but Ryoma knew she wouldn't wake up any time soon. "Is it your first, though?" Ryoma's eyes turned empty.

Then, Ryoma lied down beside her and closed his eyes, ready to drift off to sleep.

Little did he know, his senpai-tachi caught all of it on video.

And his senpai-tachi were still gaping.

Before Kazumi turned around in a corner, she said to them in a tone loud enough for the senpai-tachi to hear, "See? I told you men are wolves. Nee-chan should be careful."

With that, she smirked at the gaping men and head her way to the dining area to get something to drink.

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: That's the end of chapter 8! Hope you guys liked it! This chapter is longer than the usual chapters with only approximately 10 pages (Chap1 is 7 pages). This chapter took exactly 13 ½ pages! Yay me!

I still owe you guys a faster update because of your wonderful reviews :)

DISCLAIMER: IT APPLIES.

Please send me your feedbacks ^_^ I want to know what you think of this chapter ^.^

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

_Tezuka looked at Inui. "Today's plan?"_

_Inui opened his notebook. "That's exactly what we were just talking about, Tezuka. I cancelled this morning's activity—"_

"_Why?" The ever-stoic captain cut him off._

_Inui sweat dropped. "Uh… because of the occurrences last night. There is 87 percent probability that everyone is still tired fro—"_

"_I don't care. Proceed with the morning activity." Tezuka said sternly._

_His teammates paled and looked at him frighteningly._

"_But if we still proceed with this morning's activity, I'm afraid everyone won't be able to—"_

_Tezuka glared at Inui. "The training routines we usually had were all tiring. I can't tolerate my members complaining about a little added exercise."_

_Inui sighed._

"_Don't forget the stopwatch, and make sure you already prepared your juices." With that, Tezuka stood up and brought his order with him, which is a bento box. He left as soon as he reached the door. _


	9. Chapter 9

:||**ReCaP**||:

_Little did he know, his senpai-tachi caught all of it on video._

_And his senpai-tachi were still gaping._

_Before Kazumi turned around in a corner, she said to them in a tone loud enough for the senpai-tachi to hear, "See? I told you men are wolves. Nee-chan should be careful."_

_With that, she smirked at the gaping men and head her way to the dining area to get something to drink._

:||**ChApTeRnInE**||:

It was now Monday morning, the gang's second day of their so-called 'Recreational Outing'. Ryoma was the first one to wake between him and Sakuno and so he decided to head towards the dining area for his breakfast. He was pretty hungry.

He lazily opened the door of the dining area and yawned. He saw his other senpai-tachi seated together on table and decided to join them. "Uissu," he greeted lazily.

A sweat dropped on his forehead when his senpai-tachi glared at him with fuming, red (and glowing) eyes. "The wolf has arrived." Kaidoh said irritatingly and went back on eating his toast. "The poor prey," Momo glared at Ryoma furiously.

Ryoma felt confused. They're talking like Shiraishi's little sister for some unknown reason. He decided to just shrug it off, thinking that his senpais were just being idiots again. He sat on an empty chair between Taka and Fuji. The young one glanced at Fuji's direction and saw him smiling at him knowingly. He just ignored him and called a waiter who was wearing a Japanese robe to order his meal.

After a while, his meal arrived. He began eating his Japanese-style breakfast satisfyingly. But his planned-to-be normal breakfast turned into an awkward one when Momo-senpai, Kaidoh-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai kept on looking at him with fuming eyes. Ryoma felt uncomfortable and awkward. He hurried eating his meal and excused himself. "Ja."

After the prince ran off, Fuji turned his head towards the three who kept on glaring at Ryoma during mealtime. "Saa, you guys shouldn't have done that. Look, he ran away." Fuji said with a little scolding tone.

"Demo Fuji-senpai!" Momo explained. "You know what he did to Sakuno-chan last night! It's just simply unforgivable, unforgivable indeed!"

Kaidoh hissed angrily but it was a sign that he agreed with Momo.

Eiji nodded and added, "And O'chibi was just taking advantage of his unluckiness." He turned to Inui who was quiet the whole time. "When will you finish that antidote, nya!"

Inui adjusted his glasses and flipped a page on his notebook, "I am still working on it. It's pretty hard to multitask."

"Multitask? What else are you doing besides making the antidote?" Oishi asked curiously.

"Organizing this outing's events." Inui answered.

"Eh?" Momo and Eiji questioned at the same time. "I thought Fuji was the one doing all the planning?" Eiji asked and Momo nodded.

"Saa, Inui is our team's manager. I only managed the first day and the transportation for this trip." Fuji answered.

They looked at Fuji and Inui with understanding.

"So, what are we supposed to do today?" Taka-san asked.

Inui looked at them as his glasses beamed. "Because of what Tezuka made us do last night, I decided to cancel this morning's activity."

Everyone paled as they remembered the long flight of stairs they had to run up and down for 30 times last night.

"Anyway," Oishi weakly laughed, "What was this morning's activity supposed to be?"

"Running 50 times up and down the long flight of stairs in the entrance of this hotel… as a warm up for the afternoon's event." Inui answered.

"WHAT!" They yelled complainingly.

"I-Inui-senpai… y-you planned for us to run that stairs _again _for 50 times!" Kaidoh asked unsurely.

"And only as a warm up!" Momo added.

Inui sighed and looked at all of them, "That's why I cancelled it. Because Tezuka already made us do it. And besides, descending and ascending those stairs will increase your stamina by 45 percent. The percentage of the effectiveness of the activity is 92 percent."

They sighed tiresomely. "You're really something, Inui…"

Then, they heard the dining area's door opened. They turned their head and saw Tezuka coming in. He sat on an empty chair and ordered the waiter his order.

"How was your sleep, Tezuka?" Fuji asked smilingly.

Tezuka sipped his tea. "Fine."

His other teammates wanted to complain about last night's punishment but decided to keep their mouths shut.

Tezuka looked at Inui. "Today's plan?"

Inui opened his notebook. "That's exactly what we were just talking about, Tezuka. I cancelled this morning's activity—"

"Why?" The ever-stoic captain cut him off.

Inui sweat dropped. "Uh… because of the occurrences last night. There is 87 percent probability that everyone is still tired fro—"

"I don't care. Proceed with the morning activity." Tezuka said sternly.

His teammates paled and looked at him frighteningly.

"But if we still proceed with this morning's activity, I'm afraid everyone won't be able to—"

Tezuka glared at Inui. "The training routines we usually had were all tiring. I can't tolerate my members complaining about a little added exercise."

Inui sighed.

"Don't forget the stopwatch, and make sure you already prepared your juices." With that, Tezuka stood up and brought his order with him, which is a bento box. He left as soon as he reached the door.

Everyone stared at the door. "Tezuka-buchou… is in Buchou-mode again…" Momo said.

Fuji chuckled. "I think he was in a very good mood."

"You could tell!"

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Just like what Inui originally planned for the day's morning activity, he watched his fellow teammates pant hard as they struggled to run upstairs. They were doing this for the twelfth time, and they were all visibly tired already. Of course, Momo and Kaidoh did not show it for they kept on competing with each other. Tezuka was there too, already on his twentieth round. After the captain reached the top of the stairs, he began descending it once more. Tezuka noticed that once Oishi reached the top, he kneeled on the ground to relax.

"Oishi! Who said you can take a break! Extra five more rounds for you." Tezuka yelled as he continued descending the stairs.

Oishi had a whining look but just sighed and continued running.

"He seems to be in a good mood," Inui heard someone said from beside him. He looked at the owner of the voice and saw the victim of his 'Tasteless Terror', Echizen Ryoma.

"You could tell, too…" Inui muttered and wrote down something on his notebook.

Ryoma tipped his cap up and looked at Inui with confused eyes. "Huh?"

"Never mind. Anyway, shouldn't you join them?" Inui asked.

Ryoma smirked and began walking away, "Shouldn't _you?"_

Inui stared at Ryoma's disappearing figure. He sighed.

After one hour, everyone finally finished their rounds of descending and ascending the stairs repeatedly. New guests who saw them climbing down in a hurry could only stop and wonder what those teenagers were up to.

"All right!" Inui yelled for attention. He stood up in the middle of his panting teammates. They turned their heads up to listen to what Inui was about to say. "Everyone managed to finish every round within the given time. I'm afraid… the juice will have to wait." Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. "Now that you've all finished your warm up, it's time for this afternoon's activity."

Momo immediately complained, "Wait! Aren't we going to have lunch first?"

"Yeah," Eiji said with his brows knitted with irritation, "We're starving! And we all lost our energy from that exercise!"

"I-Isn't this supposed to be recreational?" Fuji added.

"I don't think they understand the word _recreational, _Fuji-senpai." Kaidoh hissed.

"Yeah." Taka-san agreed. "Recreational means the same as entertaining or fun."

"This is called extended training… Extended hellish training…" Oishi said.

Tezuka's glasses beamed at the complainants. They all just decided to shut up.

Inui cleared his throat. "This afternoon's activity is 5-set match. Best 3 out of five games to win."

"5 SETS!"

"A one set match is tiring already… you expect us to—"

"Of course, as usual, that'll be 6 games per set." Inui cut Momo off. "If anyone complains, the juice is already prepared for you."

They turned their heads nervously at the table where Inui placed his juices. They trembled when the _thing _popped bubbles.

"T-That thing won't turn us back into a child right?" Oishi asked frighteningly.

Inui grinned.

They trembled.

"Now, let me announce who your opponents are going to be. Momo vs. Kaidoh, Fuji vs. Kikumaru, Tezuka vs. Kawamura, and Oishi vs. me. Whoever wins the first round advances to the second. And so on." Inui said monotonously.

"I'm gonna die…" Momo said as he laid down on the floor.

"Of course, the ichinen trio will be there to help us with the balls." Inui added.

Come to think of it…

"Hey, that's not fair! Those three freshmen were also a part of the team! Why didn't you let them run with us, nya!" Eiji said angrily.

"Honestly Eiji." It was Tezuka who decided to answer him. "Do you think that the three can survive today's morning exercise? If they become exhausted, they won't be able to help us out with our games."

Fuji chuckled. "My, my. Tezuka, you _really _are in a good mood today! What happened to you?"

Tezuka glared at him. "Now, do not let your guard down and move on!"

"Hai…!" They answered lazily.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Sakuno was climbing the stairs with Tomoka after the two girls finished their shopping in the tourists' area near their hotel. What they did not know was that hours ago, their senpai-tachi were climbing up and down the long flight of stairs repeatedly, just like what they did last night. The sun was already setting. The two were in a silhouette form as they ascend the stairs while holding paper bags of whatever they bought in town.

"Senpai-tachi will be glad with these snacks we bought!" Tomo said happily.

Sakuno smiled and nodded. Then, she remembered about Ryo-chan. "I wonder where Ryo-chan went though? When I woke up this morning, he was already gone…"

"Maybe he was hanging out with the senpais again."

"You're probably right…"

"Oh, by the way! Let's go look for the senpais! They're probably in the tennis courts right about now." Tomo said and ran ahead of Sakuno.

Sakuno stared at her best friend and happily ran after her. "Wait for me, Tomo-chan!"

Ryoma yawned. He was relaxing on the hotel's bricked roof. It was not hard for him to maintain balance, even though the roof was 45 degrees inclined. How he slept on that inclined roof or how he got there, no one will know.

He lazily opened his eyes. He saw that the sun was already setting. "Hn. I overslept." He sat up and rubbed his eyes. From his position, he could see his senpai-tachi playing tennis in the tennis courts not too far away from him. He noticed that their movements were slow and they were panting hard already. He smirked. "Mada mada dane, senpai-tachi."

He stood up and stretched. He jumped from the roof to the ground. He landed on one knee and he was SPARKLING. He was showing off even though there was no one who saw him. He stood up with his cool façade and was about to go to the tennis courts when a voice yelled at him.

"RYO-CHAN!" Sakuno yelled.

Ryoma stiffened and slowly turned around. There, he saw Sakuno and Tomo standing; both with paper bags on their hands. One girl's eyes were looking at him with mockery, while the other was anger with a mix of worry.

The two girls were on their way to the tennis courts when suddenly, a human figure appeared in front of them. He looked as if he came down from a really high place. The two was startled at first before they noticed that it was Ryoma's cousin.

Sakuno walked towards him after she dropped her paper bags on the ground gently. She pinched Ryoma's ear and scolded him. "Ryo-chan! What do you think you're doing! Why were you playing around the hotel's roof! You could've fallen and hurt yourself!"

"Ow, ow, ow, OW!"

Tomo stood in front of them. She looked at Ryoma and scoffed. Ryoma glared at her. "Even though you look _exactly _like Ryoma-sama, that doesn't mean you're as cool as him!"

Ryoma snorted in annoyance. He was _Ryoma-sama_!

"Now," Sakuno said. "Promise me you'll never do it again!"

Ryoma sighed. "Hai."

"Good." Sakuno stood up and carried her paper bags with her. "We're going to the tennis courts. Wanna come with us?" She smiled.

Ryoma nodded. Sakuno could be a little moody sometimes. First she was all mad and furious, and the next she was smiling and happy again. "Ikkou."

The three walked towards the tennis courts. When they arrived there, the games were already finished. Everyone was lying tiredly everywhere and were still panting. But the three still arrived early to hear what Tezuka was about to say.

"I am REALLY disappointed at everyone's performance! You performed better when you were still amateurs! Everyone's speed slowed, everyone's strength weaken, everyone's skills reduced!" Tezuka yelled as he stood proudly in the middle of the courts, where his lying teammates panted tiredly. He won all of his games hands down, and even played with the ones he was not supposed to play with. Therefore, he played each and one of them, indirectly not following the planned activity. The freshmen trio stayed in their positions at the benches. The three looked pale as if they witnessed some murder.

Inui had struggled to stand up. "T-Tezuka… y-you performed r-really well… I-In fact… I-I've never seen you in such a c-condition s-since t-the Nationals t-three years ago."

"Of course!" Tezuka yelled. "Tennis is not something that is to be taken lightly, especially by players who already reached the Nationals!"

Eiji said between pants, "Tezuka is such a monster today, nya!"

Momo exhaled deeply as he closed his eyes. "To think that he used Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami as he played with us… he's a monster indeed…"

"He's really in a good mood today…" Fuji chuckled a bit but he gasped for air afterwards.

"A-And not only that," Oishi winced in pain, "he made us drink Inui's juice for _every _point we missed…"

"T-This is worse than hell," Kaidoh said.

"A-Anou… did we come in a bad time?" Sakuno timidly asked. Everyone wanted to answer her but they were too tired to even open their eyes.

Tezuka was the only one standing and so he approached her. "It's okay. We're already done." He said with gentle eyes. Ryoma noticed this and suddenly became suspicious.

"Tezuka-buchou," Tomo called. Tezuka turned to her. "We actually bought you guys some snack… but I guess everyone's too tired to eat…" Tomo looked at the ground sadly.

Then, Tezuka's glasses beamed. "Inui!"

Inui had sat down again after he stood up. His knees were too tired to support him from standing. "What is it?"

"What's the next activity for today?"

The Seigaku regulars paled. He's still going on with it! He doesn't care if they'll die or not!

"T-There is no more planned activity for today… It's rest time…"

Tezuka nodded with understanding. "I see."

Everyone sighed.

Ryoma smirked mockingly at his teammates. His teammates noticed this and glared furiously at him.

"Osakada-san, Ryuzaki-chan, I apologize for the trouble. The snacks won't go to waste. I've decided that you two will decide what the activity for this night will be."

Tomo and Sakuno looked at each other confusedly. "Us?" the girls pointed a finger at themselves.

"It'll be really helpful."

"Sakuno-chan, Tomo-chan," Eiji called. He was holding the two girls' ankles. Tomo and Sakuno jumped in surprise. From what they had remembered, Kikumaru-senpai was lying in the middle of the tennis court along with the other senpais… How did he suddenly teleported to where they are? "Y-You two k-know what r-recreational means, n-nee? P-Please… spare us, nya." With that, Eiji fainted.

Tomo and Sakuno sweat dropped. The two looked at each other. By recreational… it meant something fun… Then, as an idea hit Tomo's head, she grinned. "KARAOKE!"

Those who were still conscious looked at Tomo. "Karaoke…?"

Tomo grinned.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"_**Hatasenu yume wo Oikakete Koko ni iru kara Mukaikaze wo Nukenakucha Omoide mo kieteku**_," Momo and Eiji sang cheerfully as they faced their other teammates who were cheering for them. Both of them were holding microphones and were singing like crazy. They weren't even looking at the lyrics.

"YAY! Go, Momo, Eiji!" Oishi cheered as he held one arm up.

"BURNING! SING LIKE YOU'RE GONNA DIE TOMORROW BABY!" Taka yelled as he swung a racket around.

"_**Ima shika nai Nagai michi no Sono saki no hoshi Tashikameyou Ano toki no Awaku setsunai Omoi no mama!**__" _The two kept on singing.

Colorful lights hit the two as if they were on a concert or something. Tomo boyishly stepped one foot up on the table. "_**Shinjiteireba Todokanu omoi Kitto Tsutawaru hazu darou Hokori sutezu ni Ikitekita nara Asu wa Kagayaku hikari no naka ni!**__"_ She sang along. Sakuno sweat dropped.

"_**Minna koko ni iru Kokoro Kiramekase nagara Kesshite ano hata wo Miushinawazu…!**__"_ The three sang. Everyone laughed.

Ryoma had his cap covering his eyes. He was too embarrassed about the fact that the people around him were his should-be-respected _senpais._ Sakuno was sitting next to him. She was eating a cake she ordered happily as she cheered for her best friend and the other two idiots.

"_**Hatenai yume wo Oimotome Ima Fune wo dasou Shiroi MAST Ho wo agete Toki no nagare no naka Ima shika nai Arashi no naka Sono yukusaki wo Terasu you ni Kaze no oku Yasashiku kikoeru Kimi no koe ga!**__" _And before he knew it, everyone was singing along. Except for Kaidoh, Inui and Tezuka of course.

Ryoma sighed deeply. His senpai-tachi had to be dragged literally to go inside the karaoke room since everyone was all tired. In fact, Ryoma thought that is senpai-tachi will sleep all throughout their rented time for the room. What he did not expect was, when Sakuno turned the box on, everyone woke up and excitingly picked the songs they want to sing. They were more alive than the Jungle Boy who had been known for his enormous stamina!

"_**Minna koko ni ita Kokoro Yuramekase nagara Soshite Ano hata wo Miageta yo ne**_**,**" Eiji had his expression turned serious, as if he was performing in a concert.

"**Hatasenu yume wo Oikakete Koko ni iru kara Mukaikaze wo Nukenakucha Omoide mo kieteku Ima shika nai Nagai michi no Sono saki no hoshi Tashikameyou Ano toki no Awaku setsunai Omoi no mama,**" then BOOM! Momo joined in again and they continued their duet… their deafening duet. The two grinned like idiots.

Momo noticed that Ryoma looked annoyed and displeased. An idea popped on his head. He pointed his microphone to Ryoma as the finishing chorus began, "Care to give us your sample, _Ryo-chan?"_

Ryoma glared at him. Sakuno smiled at Ryoma. Her eyes looked as if she was eager to hear his voice. He sighed. He took the microphone from Momo and continued the last chorus, "**Hatenai yume wo Oimotome Ima Fune wo dasou Shiroi MAST Ho wo agete Toki no nagare no naka Ima shika nai Arashi no naka Sono yukusaki wo Terasu you ni Kaze no oku Yasashiku kikoeru Kimi no koe ga Kimi no koe ga.**"

Everyone clapped. "Echizen, you sing really well!" He heard some of his senpai-tachi cheered.

"I'll pick what he's going to sing next!" Eiji said loudly. Momo returned to his seat and began munching some of the foods that Tomo and Sakuno bought earlier.

Ryoma immediately protested. "No! I had enough! That's enough… Ah! Kikumaru-senpai, what's that!"

The music began to play. Eiji grinned to Ryoma and handed him the microphone. Ryoma glared at his senpai and made no move of taking the little singing device. Sakuno smiled at him. She took the microphone from Eiji. "Here, Ryo-chan… hurry, the song's about to start."

"Yadda."

"I know you could do it!" Sakuno cupped Ryoma's cheeks. "I'm sure you're pretty good at this. Just like Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno's smile suddenly disappeared after she mentioned Ryoma's name. Shadows suddenly covered her eyes. She let go of Ryoma's cheeks and smiled at him.

But Ryoma could see that her smile was fake. He became curious why Sakuno suddenly changed expression. His senpai-tachi did not notice Sakuno's weird movements, though. Then, the song started. The lyrics were already flashed on the screen.

"Oi, Echizen! Come on, sing!" Momo yelled.

"Go, Ryo-chan… the lyrics already started…" Sakuno said and pointed at the monitor. "I'll sing with you!"

Then she began singing, with her forced cheerfulness. "_**Itsumo Soko ni Ashita wo miteta Dreaming on the radio Konya Kimi no Koe ga kikitain'da**_," Sakuno then gave the microphone to Ryoma again.

"_**Kimi ni koi shitan'da DJ Kokoro Round & Round ni natte Nani ka atarashii koto ga dekiru'tte Mahou wo kaketekurerun'da**_," Ryoma sang… well more like _read. _

"_**Kimi ni koi shitan'da DJ Toki ni Up Side Down ni natte Konna harisakesou na omoigoto Kimi ni todoke Kyou no REQUEST**_," Sakuno was not singing with him anymore. Instead, his senpai-tachi began joining him.

Ryoma kept on looking at her. What's her problem? He looked around and his senpai-tachi did not seem to notice Sakuno's sudden change.

"_**Saikin sukoshi wa Ano koro yori mashi ni natta keredo,**_" Fuji and Eiji sang...

"_**Umaku ikanai toki wa hitonami ni Sukoshi hekondari shite," **_Taka-san and Momo sang...

"_**Me wo sorasu you na eizou nagasu NEWS ni kyoumi wa nai,**_" Inui forced Kaidoh to sing with him…

"_**Kurai wadai ni kuwashiku nareba Otona ni naru'tte koto ja nai daro,**_" They all sang together...

Then, Sakuno stood up. No one noticed her. With that, she left the room. And everyone kept on enjoying themselves with the energy they thought had drained with the day's activity.

Ryoma watched her as she left. He was about to jumped down from the couch he was sitting on to follow her when his annoying senpai-tachi shoved the microphone to him again.

. . . . . .

He ignored the song.

"Oi, O'chibi! You've missed the refrain!" Eiji scolded.

"Here comes the chorus again!" Momo said. And they all sang the song together again. Ryoma had his mouth shut until the song ended.

Meanwhile, Sakuno turned to the corner of the hallway where her senpai-tachi were singing from inside a room located there. She did not move forward though. She just turned to the corner and sat on the floor. She hugged her knees with her eyes filled with sadness, "Ryoma-kun…" Sakuno heard the song 'Dreaming on the Radio' finally ended. Although it was a soundproof room, the beat could still be heard. "I can't believe I thought about him again…"

Then, her cell phone rang. She stared at the Caller ID and smiled. Perfect timing, she thought. She flipped the phone open and answered, "Akaya-kun?"

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Well, not much of a RyoSaku moment here… but on my defense, this is _their _summer story. This chapter is dedicated to the Seigaku members fans out there :D Busy... busy... busy... College life is soooooo busy.

OMG, I love your reviews! Thank you so much ;)

Disclaimers: PoT manga/anime: Konomi Takeshi's. Songs: 'Minna Koko ni Ita -2004.8.18 Live Memorial Version' & 'Dreaming on the Radio' both from the Echizen Ryoma's Character album "J".

More reviews equals faster update :]

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

"_B-But," her voice was already faltering, "B-But still… I… I hate the fact that I know all these things about him… It only makes me see h-how much I love him… _

_And despite e-every bad trait he has… I-I still know t-that deep inside him… he's a really gentle and kind person… h-he's a humble person. And I just… I just…" _

_Kirihara listened to the sound of her sobbing and crying. He could hear her sniff too, once in a while._

"_Akaya-kun… I just… no matter w-what he does… I-I just always end up… f-falling in love with him even more… I love every trait he has… good or bad… I love him f-for who he is… _

_I love him more than anything in this world!"_

"Ah."_ Kirihara tried to sound unaffected._


	10. Chapter 10

:||**ReCaP**||:

_Sakuno turned to the corner of the hallway where her senpai-tachi were singing from inside a room located there. She did not move forward though. She just turned to the corner and sat on the floor. She hugged her knees with her eyes filled with sadness, "Ryoma-kun…" Sakuno heard the song 'Dreaming on the Radio' finally ended. Although it was a soundproof room, the beat could still be heard. "I can't believe I thought about him again…"_

_Then, her cell phone rang. She stared at the Caller ID and smiled. Perfect timing, she thought. She flipped the phone open and answered, "Akaya-kun?"_

:||**ChApTeRtEn**||:

"_**Kimi ni todoke Kyou no REQUEST,**_" Ryoma's senpai-tachi sang, more like screamed the last parts of the song. They laughed hysterically after the song ended. Ryoma looked at them with wonder. They picked that song for him to sing… but in the end, the only part he sang was the one Sakuno asked him to. Everyone was having fun and they did not even notice the disappearance of an important person. Ryoma sighed. He stood up, inserted his hands in his pockets, and left the room without being noticed. He figured they wouldn't notice, since everyone was busy persuading Tezuka to sing.

He stood in the hallway, just outside the room they rented for karaoke. He looked both ways before finally deciding where to go to.

"I'm doing fine… ah, well, the senpais are having fun… We rented a karaoke room… Oh! That's not true, mou!"

Ryoma heard Sakuno's voice. Her voice sounded like it came from just around the corner. He walked towards the direction of her voice. He couldn't see her since she was being blocked by the wall. He just figured that she was talking to her grandma or something. With that thought in mind, he decided to make his presence known to her and spend the time sitting next to her…

"Really? That's great Akaya-kun!"

Ryoma stopped. He was approximately three steps away from the corner now. "_A-Akaya! K-Kirihara Akaya?" _He thought.

"But Seigaku is still going to win!" Sakuno said proudly.

"_We'll just see about that Sakuno-chan." _Kirihara said arrogantly. "_So anyway… why aren't you hanging out with Tezuka and the others then?"_

"Oh. W-Well…" Sakuno's eyes were filled with sadness again. And then, she smiled happily, shrugging her thoughts off. "Akaya-kun! I'm really, really glad that you called, especially this time! It was a perfect timing."

By the tone of her voice, it seemed like she wanted to let out something. Kirihara answered, "_What's bothering you this time?"_

Sakuno's eyes softened. "It's still about _him."_

Kirihara sighed. "_So then… what happened?"_

"I suddenly remembered him again…"

"_Why?"_

There was a small pause before she answered. "I was praising Ryo-chan… I was hoping I could make him sing by praising his bloodline… And it made me think suddenly of Ryoma-kun… since he's always good at everything."

Kirihara made a noise of understanding.

"And then… it made me remember the fact that he likes a girl…" She was close to tears now. "I'm sorry, Akaya-kun…" She was sobbing. "I a-always depend on you with these kinds of things…" Her teardrops began flowing. "Y-You're just the o-only person I could t-talk to when it's a-about him…"

"_Maa, maa Saku-chan! That's why I'm here right? To hear all of your complaints! Now let me hear them all!" _Kirihara was feeling some kind of pain in his heart. But knowing that Sakuno might worry, he decided to at least sound cheerful for her.

Sakuno nodded although she knew that Kirihara wouldn't see her. "F-First… h-he's so full of himself! H-He only thinks about himself… He doesn't show it if he cares for the people around him or not… H-He's really lazy a-and always unpunctual… He's really arrogant and u-uncaring. He could at least smile… I mean… he always look so happy when he's with the s-senpais… And he could at least a-act nicer when I'm around…"

Kirihara continued to listen. After all, that was the only thing he could do for now.

"B-But," her voice was already faltering, "B-But still… I… I hate the fact that I know all these things about him… It only makes me see h-how much I love him…

And despite e-every bad trait he has… I-I still know t-that deep inside him… he's a really gentle and kind person… h-he's a humble person. And I just… I just…"

Kirihara listened to the sound of her sobbing and crying. He could hear her sniff too, once in a while.

"Akaya-kun… I just… no matter w-what he does… I-I just always end up… f-falling in love with him even more… I love every trait he has… good or bad… I love him f-for who he is…

I love him more than anything in this world!"

"_Ah." _Kirihara tried to sound unaffected.

"B-But still… h-he'll never know how much I care for him… H-He'll be happy w-with that girl he likes… Sometimes… I just want to a-act selfish for once… I know the same way I feel about him is the same way he feels for that girl… S-Sometimes, I say t-to myself to take him while I still can…

But… it's just… I know he'll be happier with her… Just like how I would be happy if he was with me instead. I-I can't act selfish! Akaya-kun!" Sakuno yelled; her tears were now unstoppable. She bowed her head to her knees, "I love him too much to act like that! I-I just w-want him to be happy… And if the price for his happiness is my own… then I'll willingly give it to him… I'll sacrifice my own happiness for him!"

"_Hm." _Kirihara lied down on his bed. "_'S that so?" _His eyes were blank.

"Un…"

"_Go ahead… I'm still listening…"_

After hearing enough, Ryoma walked away. He fisted his hand tightly. His facial expression could not be seen because he had his cap covering half of his face. He passed by the karaoke room without a single glance. He walked away completely to another direction. Before turning into a corner though, he turned his body around to look at the other corner where Sakuno was. This time, he looked at it with eyes filled with determination.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

The day after, Inui did not have any activities planned that morning and afternoon so they had that time all to themselves. But there was a planned activity for the night. The others took advantage of their free time to roam around Shizuoka, while the others simply rested because of the activities that happened the day before. Eiji and Momo were on the tourists' grounds of Shizuoka. They roamed around and saw many foreigners at different places. They were awed with amazement at how crowded the place was.

"So anyway, Momo," Eiji said as he licked his strawberry ice cream. He and Momo stopped to rest for a while in a nearby park. "O'chibi and Sakuno-chan did not come back after they left last night, did they?"

Momo nodded. "Maybe those two had some lovey-dovey moments again." He grinned maniacally.

"I'm getting jealous again…" Eiji admitted.

"Yeah… me too, senpai. Anyway though, it was really a surprise for Inui-senpai to hold the 'test of courage' part on the third day of the outing."

"Yeah, that's why we're free for the day. We won't be able to sleep tonight, nya!" Eiji said as he imagined the events that will happen tonight.

"Knowing Inui-senpai, he should've held the 'test of courage' at the last day…"

"Maybe someone changed his mind?" Eiji guessed.

"Who do you think it is?" Momo asked.

The two looked at each other and sighed in unison. "Tezuka/buchou."

"Tezuka had been really _in to it _since yesterday. What happened to him, I wonder?" Eiji asked as he stared at the blue skies.

"Saa na…" Momo replied. "Anyway… it had been one week since Echizen turned back into a child, huh?"

"Yeah… and Inui is still not finished with the antidote. I wonder if he'll be able to finish it before this week ends?" Eiji said and began walking away. Momo followed after him and the two continued their roaming.

Inui was inside his room when he heard someone knocked on the door. He dropped his test tubes and beaker gently on the wooden ground and walked towards the door. He slid the door open and saw who the person was. "Tezuka… what is it?"

"Gather everyone at my room. I have some important announcement with tonight's activity. Include Echizen this time." The captain said sternly and left.

Inui sighed. He slid his door closed and flipped his phone open to dial some numbers. He placed the phone near his ear and heard the ringing of the phone. His sight traveled back to his beakers and test tubes filled with the antidote he was making. "Tasteless Terror Antidote: Still 60 percent done. It will turn Echizen back to normal for three hours. Still no further progression." He muttered to himself until someone answered his call, "Ah, Oishi…"

After Inui called all of his teammates, including Ryoma as to what Tezuka asked him to, everyone found themselves going to their captain's room. They sat around Tezuka who was standing still. He observed everyone and began explaining his reason for summoning them after all of them were completed. "As you all know, the planned activity for this night is the 'Test of Courage'. The original plan though, was different from this one."

Eiji and Momo looked at each other knowingly. They knew it.

"The original plan was to go with Inui's special training menu, which was supposed to be held inside the hot springs."

They looked at each other. What kind of training would that be if it was in the hot springs?

"And because of the change of plans, we decided to move this special training on the last day, Thursday."

"We already knew that…" Momo muttered under his breath.

"And so, I want all of you to gather at the entrance of the hotel at 07:00 after dinner! Latecomers will automatically drink Inui's juice. Prepare yourselves. That is all. Dismissed." Tezuka pointed his two fingers at them, as if imitating Sakaki Tarou, the coach of Hyotei.

Everyone began standing up.

"Wait." Ryoma interrupted.

His senpai-tachi looked at him with wonder. "What is it, Echizen?"

"Ryuzaki and Osakada… and even Horio, Kachiro and Katsuo… are they included with tonight's activity?" Ryoma asked. His eyes covered by the brim of his cap.

"Do you want to?" Tezuka asked him, as if challenging him into a fight.

Ryoma nodded.

Momo grinned. "Aha! So you just want to be partnered up with Sakuno-chan, don't you? Ah, young love."

Ryoma ignored him and turned to Inui-senpai. "Senpai," he called.

Inui looked at him. "Nani?"

Ryoma tipped his cap up and smirked at him. "Give me the 60 percent completed antidote."

Everyone's minds paused for approximately five seconds.

Eiji then cried tears of joy. He hugged Ryoma tightly. "I AM SO PROUD O'CHIBI!"

Momo joined him, "Me too man, me too."

Fuji smiled at him. "So you're finally going to confess, huh? That's good."

"Wait! You must reconsider first Echizen! What if you two are still too young to be in a relationship? Oh no! What if Sakuno-chan becomes pregnant! Ryuzaki-sensei will kill you!" Oishi ran around the room worriedly.

Ryoma looked at Oishi with irritation. "Don't think about stuffs like that already, senpai."

Ryoma freed himself from Kikumaru's bear hug and walked towards Tezuka. He bowed before him. "Buchou! Please! Let Ryuzaki be my partner tonight!"

Tezuka eyed him seriously. "You're going to turn yourself back to normal for three hours. The effect of the antidote is only three hours, Echizen. You'll never finish the test within three hours."

"That is unless… Echizen wants to show Sakuno-chan who he really is." Fuji said and smiled at Echizen.

Ryoma kept on bowing. "No. I'd no plan for her to know the truth."

Fuji chuckled. "Afraid she'll find out that she'd been taking a bath with _Ryoma-kun _for a week?"

Ryoma stiffened but he still kept on bowing in front of Tezuka. "Buchou!"

Tezuka looked at his fellow teammates. Everyone had different expressions but he was sure they were only thinking of one answer. "Fine," he sighed. "But make sure you'll finish the activity within three hours."

"Hai!" Ryoma stood up straight and nodded.

"Finish the activity _and _confess." Momo teased.

Ryoma glared at him.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

The Seigaku regulars, the ichinen trio, Osakada Tomoka and Ryuzaki Sakuno gathered at the entrance of the hotel. Some were traumatized just by seeing the long flight of stairs a few steps away from them. Some simply tried to ignore it and the memories that came flooding back with it. And some had no special interest with the stairs.

After a while, Tezuka arrived with Inui. Inui was holding his thermos that was probably filled with Ryoma's antidote. Inui gestured Ryoma to follow him and the latter obeyed.

"Ara? Where's Ryo-chan going?" Tomo asked.

"I don't know…" Sakuno answered, also curious to where the data man will take the child to.

"This activity will be held at the forests that surround this hill. We already set up the signs of where you guys needed to go. After maybe thirty minutes of walking, you'll encounter a cave. You have to go inside the cave and get something in there. That _something _will be the proof that you overcome the 'Test of Courage'." Oishi explained. Some of them began to feel nervous. "You guys will be taking the test in pairs. After the first pair start, we'll wait five minutes before the next pair follow. Oh, and remember that we did not set up fake ghosts or spirits along the way. The owner of this hotel told us that there were a lot of lost spirits living in that forest and cave. Lost spirits of the people who died in the war… so be careful okay?"

Kaidoh, the freshmen, Eiji and Taka gulped nervously. "H-Hai…"

"Now! Let me announce the partners." Tezuka said loudly and took out a small piece of paper. "Kaidoh and Momo," the two rivals glared at each other, "Kikumaru and me," Eiji looked at Tezuka with shock (Eiji: nya?), "Inui and Kawamura," Taka scratched his head and turned towards the direction where Inui and Ryoma disappeared to, "Fuji and Horio," Fuji smiled at his kouhai who just scratched his head (Horio: y-yoroshiku…), "Oishi and Kachiro," Oishi and Kachiro smiled at each other, "Osakada and Katsuo," Tomo stared angrily at Katsuo who just weakly smiled at her, "And finally…"

Sakuno heard footsteps coming from behind her. She turned around and her brown orbs widened.

"Ryuzaki and Echizen."

Ryoma (as in the fifteen year old Ryoma) smirked, "Yo, Ryuzaki."

The senpai-tachi smiled. Inui was beside him and wrote down something on his notebook. He walked beside his partner afterwards.

Sakuno was so shocked about the prince's arrival. Her knees suddenly felt weak and she fell on the ground on her bottom. She kept on staring at Ryoma shockingly.

Ryoma kept on smirking. "Clumsy."

"R-Ryoma-kun…"

"Kya~ Ryoma-sama! You're here!" Tomo said excitingly and ran towards her idol.

Ryoma lowered the brim of his cap. "Buchou, could we start already?" Ryoma needed to finish the activity within three hours. Because of that, he was in a hurry. He can't keep on standing there being admired by Osakada again. "We'll go first." Ryoma stretched his hand down to help Sakuno stand up.

Tezuka's glasses beamed. "You know where to go. Do not let your guard down."

"Hai," Ryoma lowered the brim of his cap again. He noticed that Sakuno still wasn't reaching for his hand. "Ryuza—"

Sakuno stood up by herself and walked past him. She began descending the stairs. Shadows were covering her eyes.

"Oi Ryuzaki! Don't lead the way. You'll get both of us lost." Ryoma said monotonously. He followed her and began descending the stairs, too.

When the two were out of earshot, Kikumaru spoke. "What happened to Sakuno-chan? She seemed out of it…"

"Too happy to see Echizen?" Kaidoh guessed.

"Sakuno…" Tomo said. Everyone turned towards her, curious to know what happened to her best friend. "She looks… mad… not just mad… she looks really furious…"

"So Sakuno-chan also gets angry too, huh?" Momo said with his usual accent.

"Of course, baka. She's a human too, unlike you!" Kaidoh said angrily.

"What was tha—"

"Enough!" Tezuka interrupted the junior's usual fight. "You two, next."

Momo folded his arms behind his head and started walking. He was about to take one step down the stairs when he noticed that Kaidoh was not beside him. "Oi Mamushi! You coming or what?"

"Of course!" Kaidoh yelled angrily and glared at Momo. But as he took one step forward, he began trembling.

Momo scoffed. Kaidoh glared harder at Momo.

Kikumaru got impatient. He pushed Kaidoh down the stairs 'accidentally'. "Good luck, nya!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kaidoh yelled as he fell down the long flight of stairs, bouncing all the way down with his face.

"Woah! Look at what you did, Eiji-senpai! Now I have to drag him all throughout the activity if he's still alive." Momo said complainingly but he did not look like he was complaining about what happened to Kaidoh. And so, he began going down stairs, still relaxed as ever.

After five more minutes, Kikumaru jumped happily. "Nya! It's our turn Tezuka! Let's go nya!"

The childish member and the stern captain began descending the stairs.

After another five minutes, Inui and Kawamura began their activity. After that, it was Fuji and Horio. Five minutes after them, Oishi and Kachiro began. And lastly, Osakada and Katsuo.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

They heard the sound of an owl from a random tree. There was the gush of the wind, too. The wind was colder during night even though it's summer. Their footsteps created mild cracking sounds as they stepped on the leaves that had fallen on the ground. Some crickets were making noise, too.

"Nya Tezuka, are you sure you guys did not set up fake bakemonos here?" Eiji asked tremblingly. He clutched Tezuka's sleeve unknowingly.

"No."

"This place is scary nya…"

"Not really."

Eiji stared at Tezuka, half irritated half scared. He sighed. That's the conversation you'll get when you're partnered up with a stern person. The two had the exact opposite personalities too. "Oh by the way, I noticed that the pairs for this test are the ones not so close with each other. Is that a coincidence?"

"So you've noticed. It was all planned out. Inui paired up the ones with terrible partnerships." Tezuka answered.

"Why?"

"For bonding."

Eiji raised a brow. "Bonding!"

"The ones together now are the ones who are infrequently talking to each other. Just like the all-time rivals Kaidoh and Momo."

Eiji nodded with understanding. "I get it now, nya! Like me and you who have the exact opposite personalities… The analyst Inui and Taka with two personalities… The sadistic Fuji and blabbermouth Horio… The worrywart Oishi and the determined Kachiro… The loud-mouthed Osakada and the patient Katsuo…" Eiji grinned idiotically afterwards. "And the cocky O'chibi with the timid Sakuno-chan!"

Tezuka nodded.

Momo and Kaidoh were still walking around the forests. Momo was walking ahead of Kaidoh with his casual expression. Kaidoh on the other hand, kept on trembling nervously while walking. Momo turned around and looked at Kaidoh. "What's your problem Mamushi? Scared?" He grinned mockingly at his rival.

Kaidoh glared at him. "NO! WHY THE HELL WOULD I BE SCARED HUH? I THINK YOU'RE THE SCARED ONE HERE!" He pointed his index finger at Momo.

Momo kept on grinning. "Whatever you say," with that, he continued walking.

"O-Oi! Y-You don't believe me, do you! Get back here porcupine head. Fshuu!"

"Hai, hai. Whatever you say Mamushi, whatever you say."

"FSHUU!" Kaidoh hissed angrily.

At the other part of the forest, Fuji and Horio walked side by side. Fuji kept on smiling while his partner was feeling nervous. Horio was not really scared of the forest. He was scared of what Fuji might do to him now that they're alone together.

"Horio." Fuji called.

Horio jumped in shock and stuttered after recovering. "H-Hai? F-Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji chuckled. "Nothing. I was just looking at this dead body here." Fuji gestured Horio to look on the ground where he was standing. It was dark so the freshman had to squint to look at what it is. Horio paled when he saw a human-like figure lying near his senpai's feet.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Horio yelled and fainted.

Fuji stared at Horio. "My oh my. I was just joking." He kicked the 'human-like figure' and it scattered around. It was then revealed that it was just some leaves piled together and coincidentally copied a human figure. "Saa." Fuji grinned sadistically and dragged his kouhai as he continued walking.

Meanwhile, not too far away from them, Ryoma and Sakuno were walking beside each other. Sakuno wanted to walk ahead of him, but he kept on catching up to her and so she just gave up the idea.

Then, Sakuno felt Ryoma grabbed her hand. She looked at him. She tried removing her hand from his grip when he spoke. "It's getting darker here. I don't want to lose you."

Sakuno looked at him. For a second, she thought differently of what he said. But then, Ryoma would never say something like that to her. Not in this lifetime. "If I get lost, someone will find me." Her voice was void with any emotion.

"You're not going to get lost. As long as I'm here, Ryuzaki."

Sakuno kept on walking. Apparently, hand in hand with Ryoma.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in America?" Sakuno asked as her curiosity finally got the better of her.

"I had some time. I need to tell someone something important, too. That's why I came back." Ryoma answered.

"How long?"

"Uh… I'll go back again in America after this activity. Then, I'll go back here in Japan a few days before second semester starts."

"Oh." After that, the two kept quiet again. Sakuno was feeling mad at Ryoma for not even telling her that he'll be back. Not only that, he'll leave immediately after the activity. But the main reason for her angered emotion towards the tennis prince is that he came back just as she was trying hard to forget about him.

She confessed everything to Kirihara. The kind boy just listened to her, not even commenting on anything she said. She felt a new resolve after she'd talked to him. She felt that she may be able to learn to love Kirihara from then on. She felt that she'll be able to move on…

And then, she remembered the time when Kirihara comforted her when she cried her heart out after talking to Ryoma on the phone back then.

_Sakuno turned her head to look at the ground again. "And…" Sakuno continues, finally getting the hang of what Kirihara wanted to say, "unlike me, there is nobody else who loves you."_

_Kirihara nodded. "That's why you should just be my girlfriend so both parties will have a happy ending, don't you think?"_

"There is no one else who loves Akaya-kun. I'm the only person he's counting on." Sakuno said unconsciously.

Ryoma stared at her.

"What if I tell you… that there is another person who wanted to be loved by you?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno stared at him.

"W-What?"

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Okay! A lot of RyoSaku moments coming up next so stay tuned!

I'm glad you guys liked the previous chapter :) Thank you for your kind reviews.

Disclaimer still applies. It applies forever.

Please give me you comments about this chapter. Do you think I did well? Please include you comments in your reviews :]

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

_Ryoma looked at her. That girl was really dense, he thought. "I tried confessing to her through the phone. But she misunderstood what I said and she now thought that I like someone else."_

_Sakuno looked up to him. "What! Then why don't you call her again and tell her about the misunderstandings!" She was a bit surprise about what he told her. As far as she knew, confessions were usually easily understood. What did Ryoma tell to that girl to make her misunderstand? The boy was so romantically-challenged, she thought._

_Ryoma smirked. "You're right. I should." Ryoma fished out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number._

_Sakuno watched him. _

_After a few more seconds, her cell phone rang._


	11. Chapter 11

:||**ReCaP**||:

"_There is no one else who loves Akaya-kun. I'm the only person he's counting on." Sakuno said unconsciously. _

_Ryoma stared at her. _

"_What if I tell you… that there is another person who wanted to be loved by you?" Ryoma asked. Sakuno stared at him._

"_W-What?" _

:||**ChApTeReLeVeN**||:

Sakuno stared at Ryoma. Did she hear him right? He told her that there is another person who wanted her love…

"Ryuzaki. Aren't you tired yet? Let's rest for a while." Ryoma said, changing the topic. He let go of her hand and sat under a huge tree and leaned his back on the trunk.

Sakuno kept staring at him. Ignoring what he had told her, she sat across him. She hugged her knees and stared on the ground.

"Ryoma-kun," she called. All of her anger disappeared for some unknown reason. She just wanted to start a conversation with him and at least have a decent one before he goes away again. Remembering her worries for him for the last few days, she asked, "Tell me about the girl you like."

Ryoma looked at her. He sighed. "It wasn't really love at first sight. At first, I thought that she was some normal timid and shy girl. She is a member of the girl's tennis club. And since boy's and girl's tennis clubs were just near each other, I sometimes get a glimpse of how she play."

"Oh." Sakuno answered. So her love-rival was also a member of the club she's in. She racked her brain for all the members of the club, curiously wondering who the girl he likes is.

"I guess it's because of her looks of determination when she plays tennis that I've fallen for her. Not only that, she's always present in my important matches. She's not the type who would yell out her cheers. Instead, she'll just stand there and pray silently for my win." Ryoma said. He looked at Sakuno, expecting that she finally understood that it was her he was talking about. But it didn't seem to work. What a dense girl.

"I guess that girl really likes you too for doing all that." She said. The girl that Ryoma likes acted the same way she did. She was actually heartbroken to think that Ryoma noticed that girl instead of her.

"Not only that. During those times, I still denied my feelings for her. I ignored her most of the time. I felt like she'll only distract my tennis if I keep on hanging out with her. But in the end, I knew I still wouldn't mind her."

Now, Sakuno felt her heart break into pieces. The remaining pieces that were still there. She regretted even opening up that topic to him. She wanted him to stop talking about that person already.

"During the last few days did I only get to finally accept my feelings for her. Thanks to buchou." Ryoma leaned back and smiled. "And maybe to all the other senpais too."

"Oh, so the senpais know who this girl is…"

"Sorta. They were the ones who made me discover my feelings for her. And because of the times I spent with her… I realize how much I truly care and love her."

_Please… stop it… _Sakuno thought.

"I want her beside me. And I want her to always smile for me. I get easily jealous of other guys who talk to her."

_Stop it… it really hurts…_ Sakuno buried her head on her knees. She wanted to cry but the tears won't come out.

"H-How did your confession go?" Sakuno asked. She just wanted everything to get over with.

Ryoma folded his arms behind his head. "Ryo-chan told you it was someone from _our _school, didn't he? And since I just got back, I still haven't."

"Oh," Sakuno's eyes reflected sadness and misery. "Have you at least talked to her?"

Ryoma looked at her. That girl was really dense, he thought. "I tried confessing to her through the phone. But she misunderstood what I said and she now thought that I like someone else."

Sakuno looked up to him. "What! Then why don't you call her again and tell her about the misunderstandings!" She was a bit surprise about what he told her. As far as she knew, confessions were usually easily understood. What did Ryoma tell to that girl to make her misunderstand? The boy was so romantically-challenged, she thought.

Ryoma smirked. "You're right. I should." Ryoma fished out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

Sakuno watched him.

After a few more seconds, her cell phone rang.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"Ara?" Eiji asked curiously. He and Tezuka were still on their way to the cave when they saw Momo and Kaidoh sitting behind a huge tree. Both of their kouhais were blushing. "What happened to you two? Look, we've already caught up to you. You guys are slow nya!"

"Shhh!" Momo hushed. He covered Eiji's mouth and sat down again.

"What's the problem, nya?"

"Shhh!"

Tezuka kept on standing. He looked at his teammates and looked at the other directions. Only then did he found out why Momo and Kaidoh were hushing them down. He sat next to Kaidoh and leaned on the tree's trunk. "Listen, Kikumaru." Tezuka said.

Eiji kept his mouth shut and listened to whatever his teammates were listening to.

It was then when he heard Sakuno and Ryoma's voice. Eiji grinned knowingly at Momo.

It's eavesdrop time!

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"Ah! My phone's ringing." She looked at her phone's signal. "Nice reception here." Then she looked at the caller ID. Then she looked at the person in front of her. "E-Eh?"

"Why don't you answer it?" Ryoma asked.

She looked at her phone again. Ryoma's name flashed on her screen. It couldn't be.

"A-Anou… Ryoma-kun… I think you dialed the wrong number…" Sakuno said timidly.

"No, it's the one. Go ahead answer it."

Sakuno blushed. What is happening! He was supposed to call the girl he likes! Why is he calling her instead?

She pressed the 'answer button' and held the phone to her ears. "H-H-Hello?"

"Yo." Ryoma answered.

Sakuno blushed redder. "W-W-What is it?"

Ryoma pondered his thoughts for a moment. Even though he was filled with determination and will to tell her how he feels, his pride wouldn't let him do it. He never knew that his pride was higher than his will. But this was his reason why he asked his senpai to make him drink that incomplete antidote. And time was ticking fast. But right now, he doesn't care about the activity. His first priority was the stupid confession. He looked at his watch. It had been already thirty minutes since they started walking. He still have 2 ½ hours to go.

"Shouldn't we walk towards the cave now? We could've already arrived there if we didn't stop to rest." Ryoma answered back.

Sakuno looked at him confusedly. "A-Ah… o-okay…?"

The two stood up and walked towards the cave. They were still talking through the phone. "Ryoma-kun, aren't we supposed to end this call now?"

"No."

"How about your bill?"

"I've got plenty."

Sakuno sweat dropped. "O-Okay then… s-so why did you call me?"

He could feel a vein on his forehead twitched. That girl was the densest of the densest dense!

He sighed deeply. "Ryuzaki… You asked me about the girl I like… so then it's my turn. Tell me about the boy you like."

Sakuno was definitely taken aback. This must be a dream, she thought. They were talking about their love lives! She would have never even dreamed of having this kind of conversation with the cocky, bratty, don't forget romantically-challenged tennis prince.

"F-Fair enough…" she said unsurely.

Their senpai-tachi on the other hand, began to stalk them. Tezuka was the least to care though. In a flash, the senpais were all completed as they walked. First, Inui and Taka arrived, then a fainted Horio and Fuji, then Oishi and Kachiro and just a few minutes ago, Tomoka and Katsuo. They grinned knowingly at their favorite couple.

Tezuka stole a glance at Fuji's direction. Fuji was smiling kindly at the two as he watched them.

They tiptoed their way as they followed the love birds. All of them were very careful not to make unnecessary noises. The ones very excited about this were Momo and Eiji, of course.

Sakuno began. "I… w-well he's…" She sighed deeply. "He's Akaya-kun. Kirihara Akaya from Rikkaidai."

Her senpais fell comically on the ground. The noise of their fall made Ryoma and Sakuno turn towards their direction, but they were all quick to hide again. The two just shrugged it off.

"Kirihara Akaya huh?" Ryoma repeated.

Sakuno looked at him to see if he'll change expression. But no. He remained emotionless. Sakuno nodded.

"Then what about the things you told him? You told Kirihara that you love me." Ryoma said.

Now, Sakuno felt her blood drained up. How did he know the conversation she had with Kirihara last night?

He knows…

He knows about how she feels about him…

A-And he's so going to reject her…

Reject her coldly…

Sakuno tried to deny it. "No, no Ryoma-kun! I-I was just j-joking with A-Akaya-kun that time! W-We were j-just playing around." She was as red as a tomato and her eyes were looking at him with fright. Eyes that were frightened with his rejection.

"'_I just… no matter what he does… I just always end up… falling in love with him even more… I love every trait he has… good or bad… I love him for who he is… I love him more than anything in this world!_' were the exact words you said. Of course you said it while sobbing and crying… and a bit of stuttering." Ryoma said. He remembered the exact words she said and repeated to her in a monotonous way.

Sakuno's eyes widened. She trembled. Then, she felt her knees weaken again. She fell on the ground, landing on her bottom. "H-How d-did you…"

"I was there." Ryoma smirked. "I was listening to you."

And now, Sakuno couldn't stop shaking. "Y-You h-heard… me…"

"Hn."

Her frightened brown eyes met his confident amber ones.

"That's why I want you to confess properly to me." Ryoma said as he turned his back on her.

His senpai-tachi looked confusedly at him. Isn't he supposed the one who should be confessing, not the other way around? What's Echizen had in mind?

"E-Eh?"

"Confess."

Sakuno kept on looking at him. Ryoma wanted her to confess to him properly. For what? What would he gain by forcing her to do so? What's the purpose?

An idea hit Sakuno's head.

To reject her coldly, of course. That's the only reason why he wanted her to confess to him. He wanted to play with her emotions. He wanted to mock her for falling in love with him.

So that's why he kept on telling her the person he likes. He wanted to shove on her face how much he disliked her… how much ridiculous he thought of her by falling in love with him.

"You're mean… Ryoma-kun," Sakuno said in a low voice.

Ryoma turned around to look at her. She had her bangs covering her eyes, making him unable to see her emotions.

"You just wanted to reject me… that's all."

Ryoma stared at her. "We won't know what will happen unless we try."

"I-I can't." She was trembling. "I'm s-scared… p-please… just stop it…"

Ryoma kept on staring at her. She can't read whatever those amber eyes of his were saying. Because of that, she felt even more afraid. "R-Ryoma-kun… l-let's just go…"

"Are you scared of rejection?" Ryoma asked suddenly as she stood up.

She looked at him. She was still trembling. Yes, she was scared of rejection. More exactly, she was scared of _his _rejection. But if she kept on running away from that fear, she wouldn't be able to move on. She had to face it. Pain is a part of life. It is what kept people going. Without pain, life is boring. And besides, life has its ups and downs. And this time was one of the times her life was on the center of the world.

"Yes," she simply admitted. "I'm scared. You have such an overwhelming power over my heart now. You could break it into pieces anytime you want…"

"Really now." Ryoma said monotonously.

"B-But…" she was trembling more than before. Tears formed on the corner of her eyes. She was about to cry. "B-But I need to face this…"

Ryoma stared at her with an unreadable expression. The girl in front of him was truly dense. She was wasting her tears. She was feeling sad for nothing. Maybe if he just told her straightly the truth, she wouldn't go all out crying in front of him. He knew that was the least she wanted to do in this lifetime.

"Mada mada dane, Ryuzaki." He smirked.

Sakuno looked at him with eyes filled with sadness. And then, it was suddenly replaced with determination, just like how he looked like when he was finally determined to tell her how he feels.

"Ryoma-kun!" She yelled.

Ryoma's smirk faded when he saw her about to tell him what he wanted her to. "Yes?"

The two were still talking to each other through the phone as they faced each other.

Sakuno inhaled deeply. She gathered up all her courage that disappeared the moment she saw Ryoma back again from America. "I LIKE YOU!"

Ryoma took one step back. She didn't have to yell it so loud…

"I-I've always been in love with you since first year of junior high!" She began crying and sobbing but she kept her eyes locked into his. "I always supported you with your passion for tennis! I admired you for your skills! I am amazed at how well you always do at class! I think that you are a great person! You always care for others and you deny the times you helped people! B-Because of that, I've fallen for you! And because I've fallen for you, I want you to be happy!

Ryoma-kun! I wish you luck with the girl you like!"

The last words echoed through some parts of the forest.

Their senpai-tachi snickered a bit but they didn't hear it.

Ryoma stared at her as she finished her confession. Tears were continuously falling down on her cheeks as she said those words filled with determination and... truth. Purely truth. That's how it reflected her words through her eyes as to what Ryoma saw.

Ryoma smirked. He said at the other end of the receiver, "Oh."

A simple 'Oh'.

And after finally realizing what she said, she fell on her knees again. She dropped on the ground looking at Ryoma with tear-stricken face. She did it. She confessed. Now, she'll be able to move on.

But first… she must hear his blunt and cold rejection.

"You know, Ryuzaki, you're the first person ever who confessed to me who cried _during _confession. Most girls cried _after _my rejection." Ryoma said, smirking.

Sakuno blushed with embarrassment.

Ryoma sighed deeply. He flipped his phone off, ending their ridiculous call. Sakuno heard the beeping sound on her other end of the line. She raised her head to look at Ryoma.

Ryoma walked towards her and kneeled before her. "And you're also the first girl ever who wished me luck for the girl I like."

Sakuno's face turned redder, if that was possible.

Ryoma bent over her. He cupped her cheeks. Sakuno saw that Ryoma's expression was still unreadable. It was his usual look.

"Guess what?"

Sakuno stared at him with questioning eyes. "H-Hai…?"

The two stared at each other for a suffocating one minute. After that, Ryoma crashed his lips with her. He kissed her passionately. Unlike the one he stole from her last night. His eyes were closed, savoring their intimate kiss. Hers were opened though. Her eyes portrayed absolute shock. What she was sure of was that her mind had shut down for some reason. A reason that was maybe because Ryoma, her long-time crush and the person she believed loves someone else, was kissing her. _Kissing _her.

By the time her mind started working again, Ryoma leaned back. He stared at her with still unreadable eyes. After that, he hugged her. He _hugged _her.

"Me too." Ryoma said.

"E-Eh? W-What? Y-You…" She was way beyond confuse.

Ryoma rested his head on her shoulders. She could feel him smirking as he said, "Baka."

"B-But t-the girl…!"

But Ryoma kept on smirking.

"YAY! ECHIZEN!"

The two heard various cheers and shouts coming from behind them. Ryoma immediately let go of Sakuno and turned around, only to see his idiotic senpais grinning idiotically at them. "Y-Yarou!" Ryoma cursed as he blushed.

Everyone. Every single one was there.

Sakuno sat still on the ground. She was still in trance about what happened.

"It took Echizen one hour to confess… Ii data." Inui uttered.

Fuji chuckled. "That's the worst record for confession in the history of confessions, naa Inui?"

"Sou," Inui answered monotonously.

Eiji and Momo gave Echizen their death (bear) hug. Momo ruffled the prince's head while Eiji kept on tightening his hug on his kouhai. "Young love… it's so pure!"

"Nya! O'chibi finally got her!"

And then they all paused, as if they remembered something crucial.

"WAIT!" Momo yelled and bonked Ryoma on the head.

"Ow!" Ryoma yelled in pain. "What the hell's your problem, Momo-senpai!"

Ryoma felt the jealous and gloomy auras emitting from his senpai-tachi stabbing him directly on his heart.

"That's not fair!" Eiji protested. He pinched Ryoma's cheeks hardly. "O'chibi you cheater!"

"W-What…?" Now, Ryoma was confused.

"Why do you always get the good ones?" Kaidoh hissed irritatingly.

"And not only that," Taka said timidly until someone handed him a racket, "BURNING! HOW DARE YOU! HOW. DARE. YOU, BABY! IT'S A MISTAKE! A MISTAKE!" He yelled wildly as he swung his racket around.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're the one who's supposed to confess, not the other way around. And you had such a good time ever since you turned back into a child. You took advantage of every situation you had. You took a bath with her, give her a kiss on her cheeks every meal, you slept with her… In fact you already did everything a husband could do to their wives… How ironic that you just became her boyfriend." Fuji said calmly with a smiling face. Not to mention he had in internal glare.

The ichinen trio and Tomoka looked at them. "WHAT!"

Oishi turned to the freshmen, "Ryo-chan and Echizen were the same."

"Echizen just drank Inui-senpai's juice and the effect was that it made him younger." Kaidoh added.

"W-WHAT!" The ignorant ones repeated.

Oishi laughed. The story was pretty unbelievable unless it was seen happening live. He understood if the freshmen still thought it was impossible. But they were the witnesses to what happened to Ryoma.

"So, Inui's juice is the primary reason why you two got together. You better thank Inui for this." Fuji said.

Ryoma looked at Sakuno. Her soul was still swinging with the wind out of her body. That meant that she hadn't heard any of the conversation they had. She still had no idea he was Ryo-chan. Then, Ryoma turned to Inui-senpai. As much as he hated thanking his senpai for his misfortune, he still has to thank him for getting him and Sakuno together. Ryoma bowed to him respectfully. "Domou."

"Ah." Inui replied and wrote down something. "And you still have 2 hours left before you turn back into a child. I suggest you finish this test now."

Then, Tezuka cleared his throat. This got everyone's attention. "The 'test of courage' is still ongoing. I advise all of you to proceed with the test."

And after a few murmurs, everyone walked away. The ones left at the same spot were Ryoma, Sakuno, Tezuka and Eiji.

Tezuka turned to Eiji. "We better go too, Kikumaru."

Eiji raised one arm up cheerfully. "Hai!"

And the two bid their farewells to the couple.

Ryoma heaved a deep sigh. He watched the disappearing figures of his senpais before he turned around to look at Sakuno. "Oi, Ryuzaki…"

Her soul was still hanging out from her body.

"Let's go…"

He figured that she'll stay like that for a while. So, he carried her on his back and walked ahead. "Mada mada dane." He whispered.

With that, he disappeared from the view as he blended with the trees and bushes of the forest.

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Yes, I know it was boring, I got bored too when I reread it… Oh well. We'll see what happens next :] Stay tuned! Thanks for the reviews! Oh, and of course, DISCLAIMER WILL FOREVER APPLY EVERYWHERE. A review, please?

P.S Beware of an author here in FFNet (penname: 9000) She plagiarized a fic written by mitsuki-chan15. We must all stand up against plagiarism! Unfortunately, I can't find her account anymore. Anyway, wherever you are, mysterious-san, may the guilt forever be with you.

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

"_ECHIZEN!" They all gathered up around Ryoma excitedly. "You're fine!"_

_He heard Tomo squealed in the background too._

_Ryoma (and Sakuno) got squished because of his senpai's hugs of relief. "O-Of course I'm fine."_

"_Didn't you see the ghost?"_

"_Yeah, I saw some. And the lying Horio too." Ryoma replied bluntly._

"_S-Some…?" His senpais gulped. _

"_A headless monk, a floating woman wearing a white kimono, a woman covered in blood, a young boy carrying a butcher's knife, an umbrella with one eye and one human leg, a girl who had astounding long neck… oh, and an old woman who was carrying her eyeballs." Ryoma said monotonously._

_His senpais paled._

"_W-Weren't y-you scared?" Oishi asked._

"_No. Why would I be?"_

"_W-What?"_


	12. Chapter 12

:||**ReCaP**||:

_Ryoma heaved a deep sigh. He watched the disappearing figures of his senpais before he turned around to look at Sakuno. "Oi, Ryuzaki…"_

_Her soul was still hanging out from her body._

"_Let's go…"_

_He figured that she'll stay like that for a while. So, he carried her on his back and walked ahead. "Mada mada dane." He whispered._

_With that, he disappeared from the view as he blended with the trees and bushes of the forest._

:||**ChApTeRtWeLvE**||:

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ryoma heard a yell coming from inside the cave. He was already in front of the cave's entrance as he heard the yell. He recognized the voice. It was his Kaidoh-senpai's. He gulped. What could his tough-looking senpai be yelling about? Could it be a ghost? Ryoma shook his head, trying to remove those thoughts from his head. It was not that he was scared of ghosts. It was because running away from ghosts with your girlfriend lying unconscious on your back meant a lot of trouble. On the girl's part, at least.

He stepped one foot forward when he suddenly got slammed by a powerful force. That 'powerful force' left a tail of smoke behind too. Good thing he got perfect coordination and balance (and reflexes) because if not, he would've fallen on the ground.

He turned his head sideways and stared at the fading smoke that the powerful force left behind. "Who could that be?" Ryoma asked himself. He saw that Sakuno stirred a bit from his shoulder. Probably because he heard her speak. "Ah, gomen. Did I wake you up?" He asked softly. And Sakuno just kept murmuring incoherent words. She was still asleep.

Ryoma smiled a bit. "Honestly. Fainting because of a kiss? You'll boost my ego, you know that?"

"MAMUSHI!" He heard another yell from inside the cave. He saw his Momo-senpai running towards him. His senpai looked pale and tired.

"Momo-senpai?"

Momo stopped in front of Ryoma as he panted. "Echizen… did you see Mamushi run towards here?"

Ryoma turned his head again back towards the fading smoke. He guessed that the 'powerful force' that bumped into him was his Kaidoh-senpai. "Follow the fading smoke." Ryoma answered.

"Ah, I see… Thanks, man!" Momo said and followed Kaidoh's trail. "That Mamushi was so freaked out with the spider that flew on his face… He thought that it was a ghost, the coward!"

His senpai kept on saying stuffs about his partner until he was too far away for Ryoma to hear any more.

Ryoma turned his head towards the entrance of the cave. He was going in, he thought. With that, he walked inside the seemingly freaky cave.

"Kaidoh looks so cute when he ran away with a scared look like that. I wish I brought my camera with me…" Fuji said. Horio sweat dropped. "I-Is that so, Fuji-senpai?" Then, the unibrow blabbermouth forced an interested laugh. The two were already walking in the middle of the cave. A few steps more and they'll arrive at the last part—the end of the cave where Oishi and the others had set up their tennis rackets. The tennis rackets serve as the proof that they finished the test and were 'courageous' enough.

A few steps behind them were Inui and Taka…

"Did you see that Inui? It was Kaidoh, am I right?" Taka asked timidly. Kaidoh ran past them too as they were walking towards the end of the cave.

"Yes. That's too bad though. Momo-Kaidoh pair almost got to the last part. What happened, I wonder?" Inui asked monotonously as the two kept on walking.

Taka paled. "M-Maybe Kaidoh saw a ghost…?" He asked as he shivered from both the sudden decrease of temperature and fright.

"That could be possible. Although… Momo didn't look scared as he ran after his partner, did he? There is a 78 percent probability that Kaidoh only scared himself."

"O-Oh, is that so…?" Taka said, a bit relieved about the inexistence of ghosts.

A few steps behind of Inui and Taka…

"Anou, Oishi-senpai… d-do you think that Kaidoh-senpai s-saw ghosts? T-That's why he looked scared?" Kachiro asked frighteningly.

Oishi smiled weakly. He needed to remove the nervousness that was forming inside him and his partner. Sure, that cave was full of spirits of the dead… but that doesn't mean that they'll show up to them right?

"M-Maybe K-Kaidoh just forgot something back in the hotel… I-I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Kato." Oishi said assuredly.

Then, a floating spirit showed in front of them. The spirit was wearing a white kimono and she looked like an old lady.

Oishi and Kachiro paused.

The spirit looked at them and grinned before disappearing again as she passed through the walls of the cave.

Oishi and Kachiro stared.

"!"

Oishi yelled and ran hurriedly. Not before caring his kouhai over his shoulder first, of course. He was still acting like the mother he never was. He ran past Inui and Taka, and even Fuji and Horio, making them the lead pair of the test.

Taka stopped from walking. "W-What the—?"

Inui stopped from walking too. "That was Oishi…"

And then, the data man continued walking.

"W-Wait, a-aren't you wondering why Oishi ran like that?" Taka asked as he caught up to Inui.

"He saw a ghost. That was the only possible explanation."

Meanwhile,

Horio whistled. "What was that?"

His partner answered. "A scared mother."

Horio looked at his senpai confusedly. "What?"

Oishi ran as fast as he can to save his (and kouhai's) dear life. He did not bother giving warning to his fellow teammates whom he ran past. He just wanted to get out of there alive.

Then again… if he wanted to get out of there alive, why did he go deeper in the cave?

And also… since he did not give his warnings to the pairs he passed by, the ghosts would probably scare the wits out of his teammates, too.

"NOOOOOOO!" Oishi yelled and he accidentally dropped Kachiro off his shoulders. Oishi had a panicked-face and he tremblingly crouched on the ground to think more of what he had done. He had both of his hands on either side of his face as he uttered to himself. "W-Why did I do that! I should've given m-my warnings to Inui, Taka-san, Fuji and Horio! T-The ghost might c-catch up to them and kills them! A-And w-why did I run e-even deeper in the cave! T-There'll b-be a l-lot more ghosts h-here!"

Kachiro sweat dropped. Sure, he was pretty scared with the ghost he and his senpai saw, but his fears were taken away along with the speed that his Oishi-senpai ran. "A-Anou… O-Oishi-senpai… d-don't worry… s-senpai-tachi and Horio will not die…"

"KACHIRO!" Oishi yelled, which made the freshman surprised. "You're fine!" Oishi cried tears of relief upon seeing his partner sigh.

Then, his tears disappeared. Oishi stood up proudly as his background changed into the flag of Japan. "I shall return to where Fuji and the others are! I will protect them from the ghost, just like what a _real _fuku-buchou should do!" He said as if he was running for president.

Then, he ran back.

"W-Wait Oishi-senpai!"

Oishi turned around. "What is it? Are you hurt anywhere? I'll save Fuji and the others first."

Kachiro pointed to the end of the cave, which was just ten steps away from where Kachiro stood. They saw their rackets hanging from the cave's wall. They've reached the end of the cave and were _almost _finished with the test.

"W-We should get our rackets first." Kachiro suggested.

A flame of determination lit up within Oishi's eyes. "NO! We must save Fuji and the others first! Screw this test of courage or whatever! Life is more valuable than—"

"Yo, Oishi." Fuji greeted with his usual smile.

Oishi's mouth literally dropped on the ground. "FUJI!" He pointed his finger to Fuji.

Fuji had a confused look as he pointed to himself. "Yes, it's me, Fuji."

Horio walked towards Kachiro and whispered, "What's wrong with Oishi-senpai?"

Kachiro sweat dropped as he whispered to Horio the whole story. Horio looked at Oishi with a 'you're-weird' look as he sweat dropped after hearing the story from Kachiro.

"H-Hello, everyone." Taka-san greeted kindly.

"INUI AND TAKA, TOO!" Oishi yelled panicky as he pointed his fingers at Inui and Taka.

"Yes, it's us." Inui said, pointing at themselves.

"What's wrong, Oishi?" Fuji asked, curious to what caused their vice-captain's nervousness.

While all of that were happening, Tezuka and his partner, Eiji, caught up to Osakada and Katsuo. "Freshmen!" Tezuka called authoritatively.

The two freshmen turned around and saw their senpais. "Oh… looks like they caught up to us, Osakada-san." Katsuo said to Tomo.

Tomo angrily stepped on Katsuo's foot. "This is your fault! You're too slow!"

"Enough!" Tezuka commanded. "Who said you can have a fight in front of me?"

The two freshmen sweat dropped and bowed to Tezuka apologetically. Kikumaru forced a laugh as he folded his arm behind his head in a relaxing manner. "Don't anger the grandfather, nya!" He whispered to the two freshmen.

"Kikumaru!" Tezuka scolded. Eiji flinched and walked towards Tezuka. The two walked ahead, leaving their kouhais on the same place.

After a few more seconds of standing still, Tomoka saw Ryoma and Sakuno walking towards them. Well, technically Ryoma was the only one walking since he was giving Sakuno a piggyback ride. "Ryoma-sama! Over here!" Tomo yelled cheerfully as she waved her arms around.

Ryoma passed by her without a glance though.

The two stared at Ryoma's disappearing figure. "Mou!" Tomo complained irritatingly. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you and Ryo-chan were the same!" She yelled as she ran after Ryoma. Katsuo ran after her as she started running away.

Tomo poked Sakuno's cheek. She grinned childishly. "Sakuno is so cute when she's asleep, nee Ryoma-sama?"

"Hn."

Tomo smiled. "Take care of her, okay? She's very important to me."

"Hn."

"That's right. I understand those too."

"Hn."

"I definitely agree."

"Hn." This time, Ryoma looked at her.

Tomo grinned. "Of course!"

Katsuo sweat dropped as he watched the two of them from behind. Tomo was translating Ryoma's _hn-s_ to whatever she thought those meant.

"Hn." Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

"That's why you should never anger her!"

Ryoma looked ahead and decided not to reply. His girlfriend's best friend was assuming he was talking to her.

What Tomo and Katsuo did not know is that the _hn-s _all meant: Shut up.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

A few minutes later, Tezuka and Eiji arrived at the last part of the cave. The two looked at their other teammates who just stood there looking at Oishi, who was panicking and running around.

"What's going on here?" Tezuka asked as he stopped beside Inui.

Inui's glasses beamed. "It appears that Oishi saw a ghost." He answered.

"He was worried that the ghost may come and hunt us." Fuji added.

"I see." Tezuka responded and walked passed them. He called Kikumaru who responded to his call. He walked straight towards the end wall of the cave and took his and Eiji's rackets. "Here." He handed his partner's racket to him.

Eiji grinned and took it. "Thanks, nya!"

Fuji chuckled. "Tezuka, you sly dog."

"They're technically the ones who finished the test first." Taka said.

Tezuka's glasses beamed at all of them. "You let your guard down. Come, Kikumaru. We're finished."

His partner nodded and run after him as he started exiting the cave again. They might see their other friends on the way out, too.

Not before getting out of sight from Oishi and the others though, the two stopped.

Fuji was on his way to the end wall of the cave to get his and Horio's rackets when he noticed that Eiji and Tezuka stopped. "Doushita, Tezuka?"

This earned the attention of the others. They looked towards Tezuka and Eiji who suddenly stopped from walking away for some reason. Eiji looked frightened and speechless while Tezuka's glasses masked whatever his emotion was.

Curious to what stopped the two from going away, the other Seigaku students turned their heads towards the direction of where the two were looking at.

And after seeing what made the other two stopped, they felt their blood being drained away from their body.

"!"

Their yell echoed throughout the whole cave, even Shizuoka maybe.

The freshmen turned their heads ahead as they heard the yells. Ryoma squinted as he stared ahead. He saw some kind of movements coming from a distance. Then, as seconds pass by, those movements became clear. And those movements suddenly revealed all of his running senpais. His senpais were running towards them in a hurried pace.

All of them were wearing scared masks.

Ryoma saw from a distance too how Horio tripped and fell. And because the guy with five years of tennis experience was running in front, he got trampled over by the other Seigaku regulars. Soon, he was left on the ground with footprint marks all over his body.

"Oh my! We stepped on Horio!" Oishi said panicky as he kept on running.

"Then, why don't you go back to save him?" Fuji asked. His eyes were open and alert.

Oishi shook his head nervously. "I-I-I C-CAN'T!" He said in a scared voice.

Then, they saw Ryoma, Sakuno, Tomoka and Katsuo on their way.

"MOVE!" They yelled simultaneously. They implied that they were not going to avoid them.

Ryoma widened his eyes in panic and turned around to run away from his mad senpais. Tomo and Katsuo ran away, too. Although they had no idea why their teammates were running towards them.

And alas! All of them managed to run out of the cave.

They panted heavily as they kneeled on the ground.

Ryoma walked towards Fuji. "Why were you running?" He asked. He turned his head to look at Sakuno to see if she was okay. He sighed in relief to see she was still asleep.

Fuji raised his head to Ryoma. "A woman in her sixties… wearing a white Kimono… floating." The tensai answered.

"What are you talking about Fuji! It was a headless monk! Headless!" Eiji corrected as he said in a scared tone.

Ryoma raised a brow. "So you saw a ghost?"

They nodded.

Then, Kachiro yelled. "H-Horio! W-We forgot about him!"

"Ah, forget about him." Fuji said uninterestedly.

The others nodded in agreement.

Ryoma smirked. "Mada mada dane." He said and walked back inside the cave.

"Wait, Echizen!" Oishi tried to stop him but he was already inside.

The others looked at Ryoma's disappearing figure worriedly. "W-What are we supposed to do? The ghost is going to kill Echizen!" Taka said worriedly.

They stared at the entrance of the cave, hoping nothing bad will happen to Ryoma. Then after a few more minutes, their worries heightened up.

"W-We must go there and stop Echizen! The ghost might already do something bad to him!" Oishi said worriedly.

His teammates nodded.

But none took a step forward.

Oishi looked at all of them. They were still traumatized with the ghost. Maybe except for Tezuka whose emotion was still unreadable because of his beaming glasses.

"Minna, Echizen is our teammate! We must work together!" Oishi said to encourage his teammates.

His teammates looked at him with a 'then-why-don't-you-do-it-yourself' look.

Oishi sweat dropped.

"Fine!" He said, trying to build up his courage he knew disappeared somewhere in the cave. He already took the _epic _first step when—

"Uissu," Ryoma said monotonously.

His senpais stared at him as if he grew two heads. They saw him already carrying his red racket and Sakuno's pink one.

"ECHIZEN!" They all gathered up around Ryoma excitedly. "You're fine!"

He heard Tomo squealed in the background too.

Ryoma (and Sakuno) got squished because of his senpai's hugs of relief. "O-Of course I'm fine."

"Didn't you see the ghost?"

"Yeah, I saw some. And the lying Horio too." Ryoma replied bluntly.

"S-Some…?" His senpais gulped.

"A headless monk, a floating woman wearing a white kimono, a woman covered in blood, a young boy carrying a butcher's knife, an umbrella with one eye and one human leg, a girl who had an astounding long neck… oh, and an old woman who was carrying her eyeballs." Ryoma said monotonously.

His senpais paled.

"W-Weren't y-you scared?" Oishi asked.

"No. Why would I be?"

"W-What?"

"Those guys helped me take out our rackets from the cave's walls. My arms are full, you see." He gestured for them to look at his two arms which were supporting Sakuno's legs. "They were annoying though. They kept on teasing me with Ryuzaki."

His senpais sweat dropped.

Some even fainted.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

The team was on their way back to the hotel. They saw Momo and Kaidoh at the lowest part of the long flight of stairs, leading to the hotel. Momo was trying to take Kaidoh back into the forest but the latter was too stubborn (and scared) to go back. Fuji was carrying a fainted chibi Kikumaru in his arms, while Inui carried both Taka and Oishi with both of his arms. Ryoma was still carrying Sakuno on his back.

As they were climbing the middle of the stairs, Inui remembered something, which made him drop Oishi and Taka who rolled down unconsciously on the stairs. Kachiro and Katsuo seat dropped as they watched their senpais roll down. "Echizen." Inui called. Ryoma turned around to look at him.

"Nani?"

"You've got one hour left, before you turn back into a child." He reminded.

Ryoma stared at him with his amber eyes before turning around and climbing the stairs again. "Hn. I know that."

After climbing the stairs (and getting Oishi and Taka back), they gathered inside Tezuka's room again. "Only the Tezuka-Kikumaru pair and Echizen-Ryuzaki pair survived the test." Tezuka announced.

"We forgot to mention… the losers of the test will have to dri—" Inui was cut off by some kicks from his teammates.

"You didn't mention anything like that!" They complained.

Ryoma, on the other hand, smirked at his senpais arrogantly. Sakuno was still unconscious and he had her head resting on his lap as he softly caressed her soft hair. "So, what's the prize for the winners?"

Fuji smiled sadistically. "A love motel discount for both pairs."

They looked at Fuji unbelievably.

"That means Tezuka and Kikumaru will have to…" Fuji left the words hanging. "And of course, Echizen and Sakuno-chan too…"

"You're kidding." They all said. Except for Ryoma who thought that it wasn't such a bad idea.

Fuji smiled.

Oishi cleared his throat. He and the other fainted ones already woke up. "The prize for the pairs who passed the test is an all-you-can eat sushi buffet at Kawamura's. Our treat of course." He smiled.

They looked at each other. Eiji beamed happily. "Yay! ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT NYA!"

"Hn." Tezuka closed his eyes.

Ryoma looked at his _loser _senpais who all looked disappointed.

"If only I knew it's going to be an all-you-can-eat buffet, then I would've done better at the test." Momo said.

Everyone sighed. They agreed with Momo. But as they reminisced what happened at the cave back then, they all paled. Maybe an all-you-can-eat buffet is not enough to make them fight back ghosts.

Wait, speaking of what happened earlier…

They racked their brains for something missing. They were sure they forgot something in that cave.

Then, upon remembering what had been forgotten, they looked at each other in terror.

"WE FORGOT HORIO!"

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Hope you liked it :] It'll end soon, though. Stay tuned :D Of course, Konomi Takeshi owns this anime/manga. Review, nee?

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

_They stared at the hotel one last time as the building gradually disappears from their sight. They'll miss that hotel. A lot of things happened in there. From getting their rooms and hanging out with their roommates, to the activities that Fuji, Inui and Tezuka planned. The table tennis games, meeting Shiraishi and his sisters, Ryo-chan challenging Shiraishi to a table tennis match, playing tennis with each other, dealing with Shiraishi's sisters claims that 'men are wolves', relaxing in hot springs, peeping at girls, getting punished by Tezuka and making them climb the long flight of stairs for 30 times, witnessing Ryoma stealing a kiss from Sakuno and video taping it, then climbing up and down the long flight of stairs again for 50 times, playing stamina-reducing tennis matches, dealing with Tezuka's tantrums, singing karaoke, participating in the test of courage, witnessing how Ryoma and Sakuno got together, getting frightened by ghosts, roaming around Shizuoka, drinking Inui's juice, and playing tennis in hot springs… They'll definitely _miss_ that hotel. _

"_So tell me guys everything that happened in your 5-day vacation." Yumiko asked her brother's teammates cheerfully._

"_Not much happened." They answered simultaneously and all fell asleep at the same time. _


	13. Chapter 13

:||**ReCaP**||:

"_If only I knew it's going to be an all-you-can-eat buffet, then I would've done better at the test." Momo said._

_Everyone sighed. They agreed with Momo. But as they reminisced what happened at the cave back then, they all paled. Maybe an all-you-can-eat buffet is not enough to make them fight back ghosts._

_Wait, speaking of what happened earlier…_

_They racked their brains for something missing. They were sure they forgot something in that cave. _

_Then, upon remembering what had been forgotten, they looked at each other in terror._

"_WE FORGOT HORIO!"_

:||**ChApTeRtHiRtEeN**||:

The next day, Wednesday, which is also the second to the last day of their stay at the hotel, Inui gave them the whole day off. It was their _recreational _outing after all. At least, that was what his teammates _hinted_ him. And besides, he thought that they'll definitely need the day off to prepare for their final _recreational _activity tomorrow. And Fuji Yumiko agreed on taking them home that Thursday night. So he planned a very special activity for that morning. A very special activity indeed. An activity that involved hot springs and tennis.

Inui grinned evilly.

Last night, after Ryoma returned back to his six-year-old self, the other tennis club members went back to the cave to retrieve Horio, who was discovered to be still lying unconscious on where they left him. It was predictable too.

Sakuno still had no idea that Ryo-chan and Ryoma were only one. They made an excuse that Ryoma went back to America again to finish his business there. And so, business was back as usual.

Inui took out his green notebook. He was still inside his room while his teammates were roaming around Shizuoka. He stared at his scribbles and began erasing something and added some more writings. "Tasteless Terror Antidote: Approximately 85 percent complete." He stared at his chemistry set as the substance inside the beaker produced smoke. "Only a matter of time unt—"

Inui suddenly became speechless. He stared hard at that one page which contained the Tasteless Terror's recipe and effects. He scanned it once more to make sure. Then, as he was sure about his assumptions, he dropped the notebook.

"I see. So this is how it is. I can't believe I missed such an important detail." Inui flipped the page of his notebook to the page where Ryoma's records were. It was written in that page since the day Ryoma turned into a child. "Echizen turned into a child last Sunday. That means he was transformed into a child for already one week and three days." Inui muttered to himself.

Inui's glasses beamed. "Just two days more…"

Outside Inui's room, just around the hallways, a six-year-old child yawned sleepily as he walked around rubbing his eyes. He lazily dragged his feet on the ground. He was on his way back to his room with Sakuno from the dining room. It was then when he bumped into his roommate.

"Ryo-chan, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Sakuno said as she carried Ryoma in her arms.

"I just had my breakfast, nee-chan." He replied.

Sakuno sighed. Ryo-chan could be a bit independent at times. Then, she smiled at him. "Senpai-tachi and the others are roaming around Shizuoka right now. Want to go with me too?"

Ryoma nodded.

"It's a date then," Sakuno said as she smiled sweetly.

Ryoma smirked. "Heh. You're going on a date with me? What about Ryoma-nii-chan? Won't that count as cheating?"

Sakuno blushed. "R-Ryo-chan! R-Ryoma-kun and I are… w-well… a-are we even dating…? I-I mean… h-he kissed m-me but… t-then he left a-again…"

Ryoma sighed. "He said you're the one he likes. And you also like him back. So isn't it obvious? You two are together."

Sakuno blushed redder than before. She nodded meekly. "I-I g-guess so…"

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

The whole day passed by fast. Some spend their whole day having fun at local stores and arcades, while some stayed at the hotel to relax. Some also played tennis with each other, and some just hanged out at the parks in Shizuoka. Momo also got a chance to _befriend _some bullies who were picking on a cute girl who looked like Tachibana's imouto. And Eiji managed to impress passersby with his acrobatic moves in the playgrounds at a park. At night, they relaxed themselves at the hot springs, just like every other night. All in all, it was a fun day.

And that fun_ day_ met its end as soon as they all fell asleep.

The next day, also known as Inui's paradise, they were woken up by Inui, who made them drink his juice to wake them up. Then, instead of an _edible _breakfast, Inui handed them each what he _cooked _for them for their morning meal. It was already hell for them. They can't wait for time to turn and to finally go home.

But that won't happen until they finish Inui's primary activity for the day: Playing tennis at the hot springs.

"WHAT!" Momo yelled as he complained at Inui.

First they were woken up with Inui's juice on their mouths. Then, they had Inui's cooking for breakfast… and now he _expected _them to play tennis in the slippery floors of the hot springs? Not only that, they'll play tennis while they're _in _the hot spring!

They stared at the noon sun. It was the peak of summer's warmth. They were already sweating even if they weren't doing anything…

"Sou. This activity will help you guys maintain absolute balance in playing tennis. The slippery rocks of the springs will be of great use to this training. It will also help you increase your stamina because of the sweat you'll be releasing from both the temperature arising from the sun and the spring." Inui explained.

"NO!" They refused.

Tezuka's glasses beamed. "Who said you can refuse?"

They looked at Tezuka. They knew deep inside them that once Tezuka accepted Inui's activity, there's no way they'll ever be able to get out of it.

"Maa," Ryoma said as he folded his arms behind his head. "I'm a six-year-old kid so… I'll see you guys later." He was on his way out of the hot springs when Momo carried him by his collar.

"Where do you think you're going, brat?" Momo asked threateningly.

Ryoma glared at his senpai. He was about to explain his side when Tezuka interrupted him.

"You're a member of the team. And Ryuzaki-chan is not here to defend you anymore." The captain said sternly.

Ryoma gulped.

"Let's begin!" Inui said. He set up thin ropes that floated on the springs that serve as the lines for the tennis court. "The depth of the springs only reached an average person's waist, so be prepared. The water will be a hindrance to your movements."

Ryoma took note of Inui's every word. "Wait! With my height, I only reach everyone's waist! How do you expect me t—"

"How can you say that when you played tennis with Ryoga under the ocean?" Inui asked.

Ryoma gulped. He remembered that one. He and Ryoga kept on playing tennis even underwater as the cruise ship they were in sunk at the bottom of the ocean. "F-Fine!"

"One set match. Oishi-Kikumaru pair vs. Fuji-Taka pair. Losers will have to drink my juice of course." Inui said. "Oishi to serve!"

The golden pair placed themselves on their positions. Oishi tossed the ball up and began his serve.

The ball dropped in the water on Fuji and Taka's court side. Fuji planned on hitting the ball back as soon as it bounces up.

But the ball did not bounce up. Instead, it floated on the water.

"That would be Fuji and Kawamura's point." Inui said.

"I see. So this training does not only help us with balance and stamina, but also strength." Oishi said.

"Oishi, you need to hit the ball so hard that it will bounce up instead of floating!" Eiji said.

Oishi nodded and began serving again.

The game proceeded until the score reached 6-4, with the golden pair's win of course. Inui grinned.

Fuji smiled. "The water was running still. But still, a wet ball is heavier than a normal ball. And our clothes provided handicapped because of its added weight with the water. Rackets are hard to swing, too." He said his experiences to his other teammates. Then, he saw Taka fainted on the ground. "Taka-san?" He looked up and saw Inui holding an empty cup of his juice.

"Inui Juice golden remix version 2." Inui introduced. "Now, your turn, Fuji."

With that, Fuji was left unconscious on the ground, along with Taka.

"G-Good thing we won, nya! E-Even though Fuji has a weird sense of taste, he still did not survive Inui's juice!" Eiji said to Oishi.

Oishi nodded. "A-Ah."

"Next up, a singles match between Momoshiro and Tezuka." Inui announced.

Momo paled. He already knew who's going to win.

The game started. Momo had no problems with hitting the heavy ball but he had big problems with running around the baseline of the court. True, the water was still but it's pretty hard walking underwater.

In the end, he lost 6-2.

Inui handed him his _prize _and fainted after drinking it.

"Next, Kaidoh and Ryoma."

Kaidoh glared at Ryoma. The one he's going to fight with, once beaten him before. But his misfortune will definitely be an advantage to Kaidoh. Ryoma, with his height, would only reach the top of the spring with only his head. In fact, his whole body would be paralyzed, instead of his other _tall _senpais who only had their legs paralyzed.

"Inui's a monster, nya!" Eiji commented. "O'chibi is too small to run around playing tennis with Kaidoh. And not only that, he'll have a hard time moving his whole body."

"This would be interesting to watch, don't you agree?" Inui said. "Let's see how our international tennis star will handle this training."

Ryoma began his serve. He started the game with his twist serve. It had its usual power and it did not float since Ryoma applied enough force to it. Kaidoh knew it would be coming and so he prepared himself for that shot. He retuned it with his snake shot.

"Oh no! O'chibi won't be able to reach it!"

"Look again, Kikumaru." Tezuka said.

Eiji looked at Ryoma and saw that he already returned Kaidoh's snake shot. "H-How!"

"One-footed split step." Oishi said.

Kaidoh returned the ball with a normal shot. When he looked at his opponent though, he was gone. "W-Where did he!"

Then, Ryoma jumped out of the water and hit the ball with his Drive B.

"What do you know… he used his disadvantage as his advantage." Inui muttered and wrote down something on his notebook.

"Because Echizen slid on the ground to hit his Drive B, Kaidoh did not see him as he was already underwater. Impressive." Oishi said.

Everyone thought that Ryoma was going to lose.

Keyword: _thought._

Ryoma won 6-4.

Kaidoh fainted after drinking Inui's juice.

"Mada mada dane."

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

"That ends our recreational outing for this summer." Inui announced. They already signed out of the hotel and were on the bottom of the stairs to wait for Fuji's sister to pick them up.

Inui looked at his teammates. All looked extremely tired. He grinned triumphantly. Not only did he get to torture, ehem, train his teammates, but also he got tons of data to add for his notebook.

After a little while of waiting, Fuji's sister arrived with her van. She opened the window. "Hi Syuusuke! How was your little vacation?"

Fuji smiled. "It was fun, nee-san."

Everyone squished themselves inside the van, all sitting in the same place they had with the first time they sat there. Yumiko noticed everyone looked weary and sleepy. "Looks like everyone had fun." She commented.

After everyone got settle with their seats, Yumiko started her engine and drove the van. They're on their way home to Tokyo.

They stared at the hotel one last time as the building gradually disappears from their sight. They'll miss that hotel. A lot of things happened in there. From getting their rooms and hanging out with their roommates, to the activities that Fuji, Inui and Tezuka planned. The table tennis games, meeting Shiraishi and his sisters, Ryo-chan challenging Shiraishi to a table tennis match, playing tennis with each other, dealing with Shiraishi's sisters claims that 'men are wolves', relaxing in hot springs, peeping at girls, getting punished by Tezuka and making them climb the long flight of stairs for 30 times, witnessing Ryoma stealing a kiss from Sakuno and video taping it, then climbing up and down the long flight of stairs again for 50 times, playing stamina-reducing tennis matches, dealing with Tezuka's tantrums, singing karaoke, participating in the test of courage, witnessing how Ryoma and Sakuno got together, getting frightened by ghosts, roaming around Shizuoka, drinking Inui's juice, and playing tennis in hot springs… They'll definitely _miss _that hotel.

"So tell me guys everything that happened in your 5-day vacation." Yumiko asked her brother's teammates cheerfully.

"Not much happened." They answered simultaneously and all fell asleep at the same time.

Yumiko forced a smile. "I-I see." She stole a glance at Tezuka's direction. She smiled when she noticed that the always-alert captain was asleep.

After the 30-minute drive, they've arrived back at Tokyo. Yumiko offered to take them to their homes one by one, which they happily agreed to. She dropped everyone to their homes until everyone was safe at home.

She glanced at Fuji who seated himself to the passenger's seat as soon as Tezuka got home. "So, did that young boy and your coach's granddaughter got together?" The two of them were the only ones left in the van. They were already on their way home.

Fuji stared at the road. He smiled. "Yes, they have."

Yumiko smiled. "You're really kind."

Fuji looked at his sister. "What do you mean by that, nee-san?"

"You also like that girl, didn't you? How sweet of you."

Fuji chuckled. "I knew I couldn't hide anything from you."

"Of course. Now tell me everything that happened. And by everything, I mean _everything."  
_

"Well first off, I think I have a video recording that may interest you…"

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Ryoma woke up smelling the sweet smell of his girlfriend's shampoo. Well, it was technically one-sided since the girl doesn't know that he was Ryoma. He opened his eyes and saw Sakuno burying her face on his little chest. He smirked. He kissed her forehead lovingly.

The time they spent at Shizuoka seemed like a long dream to him. But, if that means that being Sakuno's boyfriend was also a dream, then he'll willingly turn it into reality.

A few seconds later, Sakuno woke up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily. She stared at Ryoma who was already awake and watching her. "Ryo-chan, are you hungry?" She asked sweetly.

"Hungry, but not yet starving." He replied.

Sakuno smiled and stood up. She changed from her pajamas to her casual outfit and went down to the kitchen. She prepared their breakfast and in a matter of time, she finished.

"Ryo-chan! Breakfast's ready."

Ryoma was watching television in the living room when she called. He turned the television off and jumped from the couch. "Hai."

He gave Sakuno a peck on her cheeks, just like their usual morning routine, and began eating his share of the meal.

Everything was back to normal again.

Except for one thing…

That afternoon, he decided to visit Seigaku. He needed to find out if the antidote is already finished or not. There were only three days left until Inui's promised two-week-long creation of the antidote.

He walked towards Seigaku's tennis courts and spotted his senpais practicing. He made his presence known by smashing a tennis ball to Oishi's courtside as he and Kikumaru were playing a one set singles match.

His senpais grinned at his appearance. "Echizen!" They greeted.

He did not bother to drift away from his main reason of going there. He turned towards Inui. "Senpai…"

"100 percent chance you came here to ask for the antidote."

Ryoma nodded.

Inui sighed deeply.

With that action, Ryoma suddenly felt nervous. Inui's sigh was problematic, as if he was indirectly telling him that there was no way to reverse the effect of Tasteless Terror. This tension between them earned the attention of everyone else.

"Listen Echizen… about the antidote… I'm not making it anymore." Inui said.

Ryoma's eyes widened as his other teammates gasped.

Oishi defended his kouhai, "Inui! How could you say that! You are responsible for what happened to Echizen in the first place!"

"Yeah, don't run away from your responsibilities, senpai." Momo added.

"Fshuu," Kaidoh hissed. "Not cool, senpai."

"You promised that you'll make an antidote, didn't you? Stick up to your promise." Fuji said.

Inui adjusted his glasses. "Let me finish. I am simply not making the antidote anymore because…"

Everyone felt some kind of tension.

"D-Don't tell me that there's no other way! That he won't be back to normal!" Oishi asked. Panic was evident on his voice.

"… because… The effect of the Tasteless Terror will fade off after two weeks. You'll automatically return to normal on Sunday." Inui added.

They stared at Ryoma.

Ryoma heaved a deep sigh of relief. "Sou ka…"

Oishi smiled. "Good! That's good news! You'll return to normal soon!" Oishi said happily.

"That was a relief nya."

Ryoma stared at his senpais. "Anyway… about the winners of the test of courage during the outing…" Ryoma smirked. Especially to Inui.

"Nya! That's right!" Eiji beamed happily as he remembered the prize for the winners. "Let's go claim our prize at Taka's sushi shop later!"

"And its senpai's treat, right?" Ryoma added.

"It's decided. We'll go to Kawamura Sushi Shop after tennis practice." Tezuka announced.

True to which, after the club meetings and trainings, they went straight towards Taka's sushi shop. Of course, Sakuno won that test too and so she was invited along with Tomo and the other three freshmen.

"Kampai!" They cheered.

"A-Anou… since Echizen is back in America… I decided to give the prize to his cousin Ryo-chan." Taka said, mostly to Sakuno.

Everyone eyed Taka. He was trying to cover up Ryoma.

Then, everyone began eating sushi that Taka prepared for them. Of course, the winners of the test had another special treat made just for them.

Everyone were chatting, eating, or playing wrestling with each other. Some were stealing food from the winners, and some simply sat there sipping tea calmly.

"So Sakuno-chan, how's the life of being Echizen Ryoma's girlfriend?" Fuji asked as he smiled kindly at her.

Sakuno blushed. In fact, her whole face turned red. "A-Anou… n-nothing much happened since he l-left…"

"What!" Momo said with his mouth full of sushi. "He hadn't called you yet?" He asked her, as he looked at Ryoma who was silently eating his meal.

Ryoma noticed this and looked at Momo. "Nii-chan said he's too busy in America."

Eiji and Momo glared at Ryoma. "Busy! You expect us to believe that he's busy!"

Ryoma gulped. His senpais were pretty persistent. He decided not to call her because he knows that she's doing fine, considering he is actually living with her. He assumed there's nothing to worry about.

Momo and Eiji's interview with the prince was cut short when Kawamura offered each of them some kind of colorless juice.

"Oyaji asked me to give this to you guys for free. I've got plenty more in the kitchen if you want more." Taka said.

Curiosity got the betterment of everyone and they drank the juice.

After thirty minutes…

Taka sweat dropped as he found almost everyone tipsy. Some were even lying unconsciously on the floor. "W-What happened here?"

He looked at the bottle he got the juice from and paled upon reading what was written in it. "Sake."

He panicked. "Oh my! I accidentally made everyone drink sake! They're still underage!"

"Kawamura, calm down." It was Tezuka. The captain looked fine and unaffected. "But you'll be punished for making us drink this."

Taka smiled nervously. "O-Of course."

The ones who were truly out of it were Momo, Eiji, Ryoma, the ichinen trio, Tomoka and Kaidoh.

"What the hell is this!" Oishi said to everyone as he stared at them with a drunk-look face.

"Looks like Oishi is out of it too." Fuji added.

Sakuno patted Ryoma's head who had been feeling dizzy since he drank that thing. "Ryo-chan, you poor boy…"

Ryoma had his whole face flushed. He hiccupped and looked at Sakuno.

"Ryuzaki…"

"Y-Yes, Ryo-chan?"

He buried his face between her breasts and continued hiccupping.

A vein popped on Momo and Eiji's head, as always. "Oi ECHIZEN! How dare you take advantage of cute little Sakuno-chan, huh?"

Momo stuck out his middle finger on the boy. Sakuno saw this and narrowed her eyes on Momo, "Momo-senpai! You shouldn't be doing that in front of—"

"Always jealous of everything, Momo-senpai." Ryoma provoked as he smirked at his senpai. He faced Momo and also stuck out his middle finger on him. "FUCK YOU, YOU VIRGIN ASSHOLE!" The tennis prince shouted.

"VIRGIN! Don't you call me that when you're still a virgin yourself!"

"Heh! I'll get laid once I get back to normal, you girlfriend-less shit!"

"Girlfriend-less! Not because you're dating Sakuno-chan means that you—"

"Eat shit!" Ryoma kicked Momo's _cock._

Sakuno was definitely stunned.

After Momo yelled pain as he rolled on the ground, Ryoma smirked triumphantly.

Tezuka's brow twitched. "Echizen, Momo! 100 laps around the courts tomorrow!"

Ryoma turned to Tezuka. "Give me laps, will you?" Ryoma threateningly said and was about to walk towards Tezuka when the tennis prince suddenly saw Sakuno looking at him with a stunned face. "Oh shit!"

He had destroyed his most precious reputation in front of Sakuno!

He walked towards Sakuno. He had suddenly imagined that he and Sakuno were married and that he just came home stinking of beer and women. He cupped Sakuno's cheeks. "Don't think wrongly of me! It was Momoshiro-baka's fault! He forced me to go to that strip club!"

Now, Fuji became _utterly _interested. "Echizen turns wild when he's drunk."

"It wasn't my fault! Don't file a divorce on me!" He said as he continued hiccupping.

Sakuno's eyes turned into twirls. She was more confused than understanding Einstein's e=mc^2. Her little Ryo-chan suddenly knew all those _inappropriate _words and was talking about _more inappropriate _words.

"I am not cheating on you!" He yelled.

Fuji then turned his video camera on. The film began rolling. "Echizen thought that he was the normal fifteen-year old one. He forgot that he had to maintain his six-year old self." Fuji chuckled evilly.

Then, a blinding light glowed inside Ryoma's body; until it turned so bright it lightened up the whole shop.

Then, the light slowly faded away.

After adjusting their visions from the light, they gaped upon seeing Ryoma turned back into his fifteen-year-old self.

His sudden added weight made Sakuno fall from her chair, which made her on the bottom of Ryoma.

"E-Echizen's back to normal…" Oishi muttered under his drunken state.

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Gasped! What happened to Ryoma? Isn't he supposed to go back until after Sunday! Stay tuned :] (Sorry for the language, btw. But this is rated T, so I went all out… and next chapter's going to be more rated.)

Disclaimer applies

Review ;]

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

"_No." Ryoma faced her. "I think _Echizen Ryoma_ and _Ryuuzaki Sakuno_ look good together."_

_Sakuno blushed._

"_Mou, we're talking about 'The Son of the King of Tennis' here!" Sakuno said, although she was a bit flattered by Ryoma's sweetness and it made her heart beat fast._

_And this made her remember one guy who was also sweet towards her. She had to tell Kirihara that she and Ryoma were dating now. Before things lead to misunderstandings. She decided to call him tomorrow to meet him personally at a park or something. Then she'll tell him about what happened in their recreational outing._

_Ryoma looked at the time. "It's getting late already. I think it's time for a bath."_

_She stared at her wall clock too. "Oh I see. You go first Ryoma-kun. I don't mind."_

_Ryoma looked at her with frustrated amber eyes. "Who said anything about anyone going first? We're going_ together_."_

_Sakuno blinked. "E-E-E-E-E-EH!"_


	14. Chapter 14

:||**ReCaP**||:

_Then, a blinding light glowed inside Ryoma's body; until it turned so bright it lightened up the whole shop. _

_Then, the light slowly faded away._

_After adjusting their visions from the light, they gaped upon seeing Ryoma turned back into his fifteen-year-old self._

_His sudden added weight made Sakuno fall from her chair, which made her on the bottom of Ryoma. _

"_E-Echizen's back to normal…" Oishi muttered under his drunken state._

:||**ChApTeRfOuRtEeN**||:

Inui grinned evilly.

Fuji looked at him curiously. "Inui? Didn't you say he'll return to normal on Sunday?"

"Yes, that's what _I said." _Inui answered. This answer was enough for Fuji and the others to understand everything:

Inui tricked them.

As usual.

Ryoma exhaled deeply. He was lying on top of a flushed and surprised Sakuno. "Whew. So hot here…"

The drunken Ryoma began unbuttoning his shirt. Sakuno blushed redder.

Now, Ryoma was left topless on top of his girlfriend.

Fuji focused his camera more to them.

Tezuka stood up. He wanted to stop what was happening, but at the same time, he also doesn't. So, he just stood there, waiting for what Ryoma would do next.

"Ryoma-kun… R-Ryo-chan… eh? EH?" Sakuno said meekly.

The ichinen trio and Tomoka were all asleep due to the sudden intake of alcohol.

"So, as I've said… I wasn't out in that stripping club to check out girls. It was that shit Momo who made me come!" Ryoma continued.

Sakuno was still staring at him wide-eyed, unable to comprehend what just unfold before her.

"Now, let's have sex." Ryoma added and began nibbling Sakuno's ear.

Everyone's face flushed.

Fuji zoomed in his video camera more. He was also blushing a bit. "Saa…"

"KYAA~" Sakuno yelled and pushed Ryoma away from her.

Ryoma got thrown not too far away from her. "The hell—!"

Sakuno stood up, whole body flushed and panting. "What happened! You were Ryo-chan a moment ago… then you turned into Ryoma-kun!"

Inui cleared his throat. He began explaining _everything _to Sakuno. A series of different facial expressions made its way towards Sakuno's face as Inui-senpai told her the whole story. And after he was done explaining, Sakuno stood there, shocked at the revelation.

The Ryo-chan she knew was one with his _cousin _Ryoma-kun. That little kid whom she spent that last two weeks with. That little kid whom she took a bath with. That little kid whom she slept with. That little _innocent _kid who was calling her 'nee-chan'.

With all those new information that suddenly got into her head, she fainted.

Ryoma stared at her.

"Ryuzaki fainted." He stated the obvious.

And then, Kaidoh started a fight with the other drunken men. Eiji, Momo, Oishi and Kaidoh started exchanging foul words and grappling each other on the ground. Especially Momo and Kaidoh… and if you look at Eiji and Oishi… it did not look much of a grappling match, rather a _yaoi _thing.

Of course, Fuji caught it all on tape. He turned to Tezuka, "Never knew Oishi and Eiji had that kind of relationship."

Tezuka's glasses beamed. "Make everyone stop." He said authoritatively.

Fuji chuckled and gave Taka a racket.

"BURNING!"

Ryoma crawled _seductively _towards an unconscious Sakuno. He poked her cheeks and grinned evilly. "You should never let your guard down, Ryuzaki."

Go back to the second chapter. Skim to the part where he said _'Ryuzaki doesn't need to be alert since he's NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING PERVERTED!' _Oh, how people change easily.

He kissed her on her lips and began to nibble on her lower lip and I'm going to cut it now since I don't want to turn the ratings of this fic to M.

"BURNING! LET GO OF HER, BABY!" Taka grabbed Ryoma away from his girlfriend. The young boy protested of course, but Taka was too strong for him. He gathered all of the drunken men in a corner and pointed his yellow racket to them. "STOP THE BURNING OF LOVE, MEN! IT'S A MISTAKE! WRONG! IT'S WRONG! YOU BAD BOYS!" He scolded them.

Then, Fuji took out the racket from Taka's hand. "That's enough, Taka-san."

And Kawamura turned back into his old timid self. "Ah… what have I been doing?"

Fuji turned to Tezuka. "There, I made them stop." Fuji opened his eyes when he saw Tezuka's brow twitched.

"You haven't." Tezuka said.

Fuji turned around and saw the drunken men from behind Taka. Ryoma was already crawling his way back to the unconscious Sakuno, Kaidoh and Momo began wrestling again… and this time, he wasn't sure if he was going to be relieved or not but Eiji and Oishi began punching each other. "My, oh my. Looks like you're right. How are we supposed to stop their madness?"

"You don't sound concern at all." Tezuka said. A nerve was already twitching from his forehead.

Fuji chuckled. "Well, you _could _say that."

Ryoma crawled back to Sakuno. He climbed on top of her and stared at her sleeping face. Her _innocent _sleeping face to be exact. His face was still red because of the alcohol and he had his eyes half-opened. He hiccupped once more before leaning towards her. He kissed her passionately. And soon, he was unbuttoning her blouse.

Fuji stopped him just in time though. He grabbed Ryoma's wrists and stared at the young prince with his warningly cerulean eyes. "That's enough, Echizen."

Ryoma stared at the tensai with half-lidded half-conscious eyes. "What are you doing, Fuji-senpai?" He asked lazily.

"Now, Fuji sounded concern. Does that help you Tezuka?" Inui asked monotonously.

Tezuka's glasses beamed. Of course Fuji sounded serious that time. He liked Ryuzaki-chan, but never had the intention of letting anyone know. "No." He replied to the data man.

Fuji closed his eyes again. Ryoma was acting lazily now, unlike earlier when he cursed and acted like a low-life man. He smiled. "Looks like you're finally getting sleepy."

Ryoma hiccupped. "Sleepy…? Who's… sleepy? I'm… not… sleepy ye—" He cut himself off as he dropped unconsciously on top of Sakuno.

Fuji turned to Tezuka and smiled again. "Well, we'll just have to wait for Kaidoh, Momo, Eiji, and Oishi to knock themselves out to shut them up, like Echizen."

Tezuka sighed. One thing is for sure, Tezuka would never let them get drunk again, ever.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Ryoma slowly opened his eyes. It was one Saturday morning that involved a lot of headaches, that was what Ryoma was sure of. He didn't know why, but his head hurts a lot! He clutched his head, attempting to ease the pain. He also smelled the disgusting scent of alcohol. He imagined his father pestering him, stinking of alcohol. Maybe his perverted old man decided to visit him, that's why he smelt alcohol everywhere.

He sat up.

That's weird, he thought. His feet reached the floor. In his six-year-old life, he had to jump out of the bed to reach the floor. He stared at his hands. Those weren't that big before either.

He stood up and walked towards Sakuno's full-body mirror. He saw himself. His fifteen year old self.

"So I guess, it's Sunday today…" he uttered. "I'm back to normal…"

Then, he heard a knock on the door. "A-Anou… R-Ryoma-kun… breakfast's ready…"

That was weird too. She called him Ryoma…

He opened the door and saw the timid-looking Sakuno. She blushed upon seeing him stare down at her. "Oi, what happened here?" He asked.

Sakuno stared at him confusedly. "Ah… w-well… y-you were drunk last night s-so I guess you have no idea what happened…"

Ryoma's eyes widened. "Drunk!"

Sakuno nodded. "Kawamura-senpai accidentally made everyone drink sake. You, Kaidoh-senpai, Momo-chan-senpai, Kikumaru-senpai and Oishi-senpai were drunk the whole night." She explained. Last night, Tezuka asked Fuji and Inui to take everyone home as soon as the drunken men passed out. They had a hard time going back and forth, carrying their teammates to their houses.

Ryoma pointed to himself unbelievably. He once swore to himself that he would never ever drink any beverage with even one percent alcohol content so long as he lives his life. He got traumatized when he saw his Oyaji drunk one night and acted really _really _perverted towards his mom. He never imagined himself getting drunk even. "Me? Drunk?" Those words didn't even sound right in one sentence.

Sakuno nodded meekly.

Then, Ryoma felt his stomach turn upside down. He quickly ran towards the bathroom and voila! The proof that he was drunk last night came out from his mouth.

Sakuno followed after him. She patted Ryoma's back concernedly. "A-Anou… R-Ryoma-kun… are you too unwell to eat breakfast today?"

Ryoma tiredly looked at her. "I'm fine. Just go ahead and eat without me. I'll eat la—" He made another puking sound and vomited on the sink again. Oh, how embarrassing! She saw him like that!

Sakuno obeyed him though. She ate her breakfast alone. She took some glance to the bathroom every once in a while to check up on the prince. At first, she thought about asking him to go back to his own home since he's not a six year old child anymore. But then, she imagined what Ryoma would say to her. He'll only say that he's her responsibility until her grandma gets back. Or whatever excuse he can make up. He'll win either way anyway so why bother.

"AH! STUPID HANGOVER!" The prince yelled as he slumped down tiredly on the couch. He laid down looking extremely tired.

Sakuno walked up to him carrying some kind of medicine, a glass of water and a rice ball. "A-Anou… this medicine is effective for headaches… but you have to at least eat something first before drinking it."

He looked at her with gratifying eyes. He then sat up and ate the rice ball. After he was done, he drank the medicine. He lied back on the couch, thanking Sakuno.

Sakuno smiled and blushed.

"So I guess this means that you already know that Ryo-chan and I were the same." Ryoma said, eyes closed.

Sakuno's purportedly sincere blush turned into an embarrassing one. She remembered every thing she had done with _Ryo-chan. _Her baths with him, her nights with him… EVERYTHING!

Ryoma took Sakuno's silence as a 'Yes'. He smirked. "Say, until this hangover of mine goes away… could you take care of me?"

She blushed even redder. "H-Hai…"

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Ryoma's hangover completely disappeared that afternoon. And indeed, Sakuno took care of him as he asked. And so, at that moment, Ryoma decided to hang out at the street tennis courts to challenge some loser and defeat whoever that loser is in a matter of time. Momo was there at the street tennis courts too, as usual. But when Ryoma arrived there, his senpai was with Ann Tachibana. And Ryoma was more than happy to find out something that may come in handy whenever he was teasing the poor junior. Momo denied that he was dating Ann though; saying that he was only playing tennis with her. And it also seemed that Momo also got over his hangover from last night.

And so, the three hanged out at the tennis courts until night. They played with the usual guys that were there. Gyokurin guys were still there too. Ryoma was amazed at how the place did not change after three years had gone. The vandalized graffiti were still there and didn't change at all. The whole place was kept clean too.

After three hours of non-stop tennis, Ryoma decided it was time for him to go home. Momo teased him about going home to his 'wife'. He glared at his senpai for that, but inside, he did not mind anyone calling Sakuno his wife. She'll be his wife someday after all, so why not call her with that nickname earlier?

He unlocked the door of the Ryuzaki residence with his borrowed key. He opened the door and uttered a monotonous "Tadaima."

Ryoma's eyes softened. It felt as if he just came back from work, with his wife waiting for him at home. It gave him a sneak peek of their future together.

As he was finished placing his shoes neatly on the shoe rack, Sakuno came up to him. "Welcome home, Ryoma-kun." She said shyly.

Ryoma patted her shoulder and walked passed her, heading towards their room where he would change his clothes. As he got there, he walked towards his duffel bag and rummage inside it, looking for something appropriate to wear. He got his new batch of clothes out and wore them. After he was done changing, he saw Sakuno on the couch watching television. She saw him came out of the room and told him, "A-Anou… d-dinner's ready… I-I'll eat w-with you."

Ryoma answered her with a small 'hn'. He climbed down the stairs and headed towards the dining room. Sakuno turned the television off and walked towards the dining room to join him for dinner.

She watched Ryoma began eating his meal. She was eager to find out if he liked it or not. She stared at him, eagerly waiting for his comment.

Ryoma saw her looking at him. She blushed and quickly looked away. "Oh. Sorry, forgot about that." Ryoma said and leaned forward. He gave Sakuno a quick peck on her cheeks. Sakuno blushed.

"A-Anou… w-why…?"

He looked at her with puzzlement. "Didn't you tell me to always give you a kiss every time you give me a meal?"

Sakuno blushed redder. "Y-Yeah, I said that… b-but to Ryo-chan, not to you…"

Ryoma smirked. "Ryo-chan and I are the same."

She blushed even more, if it was possible.

"Anyway, it's edible enough so don't worry." Ryoma said.

Sakuno looked at his eyes. "E-Edible?"

"That's my way of complementing, stupid girl."

"O-Oh." She leaned her back on the chair's backrest and began eating her food. She unknowingly smiled. This felt like they were married or something. Then she blushed, getting embarrassed about her own thoughts.

After dinner, Ryoma got curious with the DVD Sakuno had inside her player as he explored her living room. He asked her about it and the two watched the anime series called, 'The Son of the King of Tennis'. Ryoma never saw it before so he decided to watch it. After watching some parts of the anime, the two sat still, eyes filled with amazement at the anime they saw.

"W-Wow… that Echigoya Ryosuke guy was something…" Sakuno commented.

"How unrealistic." Ryoma said although he was amazed inside.

Sakuno weakly smiled. "Oh come on Ryoma-kun, I know they were pretty unrealistic… but anime are always unrealistic, although they teach valuable life lessons."

"I think that Echigoya Ryosuke's captain, Teshima Kunimichi, was better than him. He should be the main character." Ryoma said.

"But Echigoya's much cooler!" Sakuno pouted. "The tensai, Fujikage Shunsuke was cool too. The Yellow Pair also has some cool moves. Oichi Shuichi and Kikugawa Eiichi make the perfect doubles pair!"

"Well whatever. I still don't like Hyorei's captain, Adobe Geigo. He reminds me of that Monkey King. The data man, Inao Sadahige, creeps me out too. And that Echigoya's sidekick-slash-best friend, Momotami Takechi, was also a loser. Falling in love with Kudomine's captain's sister, Tachinaba Anna." Ryoma said.

"Oh, I think it's cute! And don't you think Ryusaki Sunako and Echigoya make a cute couple?" She asked expectantly.

Ryoma eyed her. "This anime is about sports, not romance."

"Mou, you're no fun."

Ryoma smirked. "But I do know one couple that looks good together."

Sakuno looked at him. "Who? Don't tell me Osagawa Tomoko and Horri Satoru!"

"No." Ryoma faced her. "I think _Echizen Ryoma _and _Ryuuzaki Sakuno _looks good together."

Sakuno blushed.

"Mou, we're talking about 'The Son of the King of Tennis' here!" Sakuno said, although she was a bit flattered by Ryoma's sweetness and it made her heart beat fast.

And this made her remember one guy who was also sweet towards her. She had to tell Kirihara that she and Ryoma were dating now. Before things lead to misunderstandings. She decided to call him tomorrow to meet him personally at a park or something. Then she'll tell him about what happened in their recreational outing.

Ryoma looked at the time. "It's getting late already. I think it's time for a bath."

She stared at her wall clock too. "Oh I see. You go first Ryoma-kun. I don't mind."

Ryoma looked at her with frustrated amber eyes. "Who said anything about anyone going first? We're going _together."_

Sakuno blinked. "E-E-E-E-E-EH!"

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Sakuno was in an awkward position where she just sat on the cold tiled floor of her bathroom, leaning on the glassed sliding door, watching Ryoma stripping in front of her.

Back then, it was the other way around. Ryoma (child version) would nosebleed on a corner as Sakuno relaxes in her bath tub. But Ryoma soon got used to it. He figured Sakuno would too. Although it would take some time because of her shyness.

He began unbuttoning his shirt.

Sakuno wanted to look away but she can't! She can't because she wanted to see more!

She shook her head violently for even thinking about that.

He unzipped his pants and tossed them aside, leaving him on his boxers.

Sakuno could feel her face about to burst because of too much blood rising to her cheeks. She believed her heart's beat was faster than a bullet right about now.

He removed his boxers (giving Sakuno a view of him nude) and dipped himself in the bathtub. Ryoma looked curiously at Sakuno who was still quiet and unmoving. "What's the prob?"

Sakuno pinched her nose. Blood would soon find its way out of them.

Ryoma smirked. He felt kind of triumphant for making Sakuno feel the same way he felt that day when they first took a bath together. He knew he needed to feel guilty, but the feeling just never came out. Ah sweet, wonderful karma.

"I-I-I c-c-c-c-can't t-t-t-take a-a-a-a-a b-b-b-bath w-w-with y-you…" she stuttered. She sounded like she was electrified or something!

And remembering what Sakuno did that day, he decided to imitate her. "Ryuzaki is such a shy girl."

"A-Anou… n-no! I-It's n-not like t-that!" She protested.

Now, this felt like dèjà vu to Ryoma. So he decided to go with the flow. "Then take your clothes off and join _onii-chan _here."

"B-But!" She blushed thirty shades of crimson.

Ryoma stood up, giving her another full view of him nude. He walked towards Sakuno and removed her clothes himself, despite the latter's protest. He carried her bridal-style and dropped her gently in the tub.

She was trembling and stuttering all the way. She had her back turned to Ryoma. She felt like she was going to faint anytime soon.

Then, Ryoma hugged her, making her feel his chest from her back. "What are you so embarrassed about? I've seen you naked a lot of times."

And then, Sakuno truly did faint.

"Ah. Ryuzaki…?" Ryoma stared at her twirling eyes. He sighed. "Oh well. I've always wanted to sleep naked with you." He smirked.

:||**SePaRaToR**||:

Sakuno slowly opened her eyes. The sun's light blinded her slightly. She felt some weight on her waist and found Ryoma's leg on top of her stomach. He used her as his human pillow. Not only that, Ryoma's arms were wrapped around her shoulders. He was breathing slowly and had his mouth slightly opened. He always looked so peaceful whenever he was asleep.

She smiled a bit.

But then again, she had no idea what happened last night. She only remembered until the time he _forced _her to take a bath with him. She removed herself from his tight grip and jumped out of the bed. Only to see herself naked… She blushed and saw him also naked. She blushed even redder. She quickly jumped into her closet and racked out whatever clothe she got her hand on and quickly put them on.

They didn't do _that _last night… did they?

Sakuno blushed.

"Nothing happened." Ryoma answered her mental questions sleepily. He was still in the same position he left her, the difference was he had his one eye cracked open. He woke up when Sakuno removed herself from his embrace. He silently watched her dressed herself from then on. Then he added, "Nothing will happen until I think we're both in the right age."

Then he got back to sleep.

Sakuno had blushed a million times already since she found out that he and Ryo-chan were one.

She sighed. She felt relieved after he answered her unasked questions. And then, she decided it was time for her to make breakfast.

She went out of their room and down the stairs to the kitchen. It was then when she noticed her landline phone. That's right! She had to call Kirihara to meet him up that afternoon to talk to him about her and Ryoma.

But first, she needed to finish breakfast first.

So she went to the kitchen and began preparing their meal.

Not long after, she finished cooking and already set up the table. "Ryoma-kun, breakfast's ready!" she yelled, enough for the sleeping prince to hear.

Then, she walked towards the landline phone and started dialing some numbers. She listened to the ringing tone on the phone until she heard Kirihara answered it. "_Sakuno-chan? That's weird…"_

Sakuno was not even given the chance to greet back. "A-Anou… Akaya-kun, what do you mean by weird?"

_DING DONG_

She looked at the door. "Oh, wait. I've got some visitor. Please hold." She dropped the phone on the table and opened the door for her visitor.

Her brown orbs widened in shock upon seeing Kirihara Akaya standing on her porch, a phone held on his ear. "What I mean about weird is… I'm standing in front of your house and you happened to call at the exact time I'm about to ring the doorbell."

Sakuno stared at him. "A-A-AKAYA-KUN!" She unconsciously yelled.

Kirihara grinned and flipped his phone off. "Yo."

:||**ToBeCoNtInUeD**||:

A/N: Next chap's the last one T^T Oh well! This was definitely a whole chapter dedicated to RyoSaku fans! So sorry for the OOCness *bows apologetically*. Oh, and of course, my parody version of POT, entitled 'The Son of the King of Tennis'. SOTKOT for short *grins*, was made entirely for the cause of my readers' laughs. Their names, too. Hope you like it so far ^^

I disclaim.

Please review ;] Stay tuned for some KiriSaku moments next time ;D

:||**NeXtTiMe**||:

"_Hands off my girlfriend." Ryoma added as he stared at Kirihara with vicious eyes._

_Sakuno looked at Kirihara apologetically. "A-Anou, Akaya-kun… t-this is the reason why I wanted to talk you about this later…"_

_Kirihara turned his look to Sakuno. "This?"_

_Sakuno fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. She didn't know how to start the story. "Y-You see… Ryoma-kun and I are—"_

"_Dating." Ryoma finished for her. "For five days already." _


	15. Chapter 15

It's official. I will be on a very, very, very long hiatus in writing fanfictions due to excessive and utterly unreasonable amount of work to be done for my thesis (and my losing interest in the fandom). I will not be able to update ANY ON-GOING STORIES in the PoT fandom. I deeply apologize for not being able to update, considering that I absolutely love writing stories.

For now, I am not sure if I'll return in writing fanfictions in Prince of Tennis. I am not sure if I will only be on a hiatus or if I'm going to officially retire. If, in an occasion, I have been inactive for 2 years after reading this note (that means the date must be July 13, 2014), you can adopt an on-going Prince of Tennis fic of mine **given that you pm me about it**. It also means that I have retired from writing here and will not post any stories anymore.

Take note: I will still be reading fanfictions from time to time. I just won't be able to write fics for a long, long time. I'm most likely in the Gintama Fandom by now...

Thank you for your time in reading this... So now, please don't hurt me XDD

P.S, God, I feel so sorry... I can't even write the last freaking chapter! It's the last chapter! Why? How can I be so irresponsible and stupid? I AM SO VERY VERY VERY SORRY FOR THIS! *Dodges tomatoes thrown her way but tripped and fell anyway*

~Goodbye?


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